Duel Monster Academy old
by Vampiric Dragonrider
Summary: Jaden Yuki is a new student at Duel Academy. Little does he know, it's not just open to humans... AU... CHAPTER 28 UP!
1. Introduction

**This is an AU to GX. I shall tell you now that this has many mystical creatures in it. I do not own GX or anything else I might mention.**

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_The brunette boy smiled at his new companion. Jaden Yuki was his name, and his new acquaintance was Syrus Truesdale. Jaden had no idea that when he was going into Duel Academy, it wasn't just open to humans…_

_------_

"Hello, my students," A grisly-looking bald man with a brown beard announced on the large TV, "And welcome to duel academy! I am Chancellor Sheppard and I and somewhat of a principal…" Jaden was nodding off.

"You might want to stay awake for the rules, human," a boy said next to Jaden. He jerked his head up and asked "What?"

The boy just smiled knowingly and said, "If you don't know, then I won't tell you. It's for your own safety." The boy had dark teal hair, and was wearing a long midnight blue jacket.

"Umm… okay then. What was your name again?"

"Zane."

Sheppard continued. "Now, I shall explain the rules. No one except for hunters is allowed in the forest after sundown. If you practice _anything_, do it in a secluded area or in your room only. No one from the Night Class is allowed to visit the Day Class, and vice versa, except for prefects. Any pets must be kept in a cage or under a watchful eye when out of it. The only type of fighting allowed is duelling. Kapeesh?"

"Kapeesh," the room chorused.

"Now, you are free to explore the island, but _make sure _you are back in your room by sundown. Anyone who does not obey that rule will be expelled immediately and on the spot."

The gaggle of students disbanded, streaming out of the three doors. Jaden met up with Syrus. Syrus was wearing a green jacket, while Jaden was wearing a tan one.

"Hey Sy, let's explore right away!" Jaden offered happily.

"No, Jay, Let's _not_. I don't like some of the students, and if my brother finds me, I'll probably be forced to go with him again!" Syrus argued.

"But…"

"But no. C'mon, we share a room at the Slifer Dorm," Syrus said firmly.

"I'll duel you!" Jaden said suddenly. Syrus looked up suddenly at him.

"No, Jaden, you would lose."

"So?"

"You don't know what I am, do you?"

"Umm… a human?" Syrus just shook his head in exasperation and walked out of the room, with a disheartened Jaden tagging along. No duel _and_ no exploration!

When they got to the dorm, Jaden was disappointed. It was like a bunch of run down shacks thrown together and painted with yellow paint that looked like puke and red paint that matched, but wouldn't look good alone.

"This is disappointing," Jaden started, only to get cut off by Syrus.

"This is great! Plenty of room to relax, great room, _and_ as far away as possible from Zane!" Syrus chattered.

"Hold on, your brother's _Zane_?"

"Yeah, didn't you know? No one would guess because we are so different, but our duelling strategies are similar."

"You were talking about me, little brother?" Came the voice of the all-known Zane.

"Speak of the devil…" Syrus muttered, then said, "Of course, who wouldn't talk of you?"

"Usually it's of Chazz," Zane commented casually. However, it didn't fly by Jaden's ears, no matter what the tone.

"Who's Chazz?"

Zane answered, "He's basically the leader of the entire school. The Chancellor is just a cover-up for Chazz, so that he can still be a student and not hassled. But everything goes through the Chancellor to Chazz."

"Why is _he_ the leader?" Syrus inquired.

"Because he is the most powerful… one around and is the _only_ one of his… race," Zane hinted at Syrus, who nodded in understanding. Jaden just became more and more confused. "You'll understand soon," Zane said to him. "In fact, the time might be in a few minutes. Come to my bedroom. It's impossible to just tell you outright…"

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_People, I have a proposition for you: A chance to be in this story! It's first-come, first serve, and basically you let me borrow your OC. Only about 4 will be allowed…Here is an example…_

**Name:** Natsuki Ichigo (Note: The name doesn't have to be Japanese! In fact, I'd prefer for anything not Japanese, Chinese, Korean, stuff like that. I always find them harder to remember)

**Gender:** female

**Appearance:** Pink hair, green eyes, pale skin, medium height, piano fingers, knee-length red skirt with normal school's top, only red where it's normally blue.

(1)**Monster:** Griffon (werewolf, neko, dragon, fairy, wizard, ANYTHING)

(2)**Monster Appearance:** Pink fur, red wings, red claws, red beak, green eyes, size of a lynx.

(3)**Monster Item: **light blue, heart-shaped bracelet.

**Degree of Intelligence:** somewhat smart, but mostly street smart.

**Deck: **winged beasts (can also be based on attribute, like WIND, or names, like AMAZONESS)

**Personality:** Bubbly, trusting, out-going, girly, messy

**Interests: **Mythology, fire, Animals, astronomy, geology

**Crush (if any): **none (if you do have one, say if you try to hide it and succeed, try to hide it and fail, or openly show it)

_(1)You may not choose Human, Vampire, or a Changeling, for a changeling is just an elf, demon, fairy, etc. and that would leave me trying to make it up for you, and you probably wouldn't like it._

_(2)This is for those who have different forms, 'cause you can't exactly go around as a griffon, or something! A Neko would have to describe its ears and tail, and you WILL have a full human appearance, so describe the Item too. However, Elves and goblins and stuff like that WILL NOT have other forms, so if you are one of those, there is no need for you to describe the Item. Fairies WILL have another form._

_(3)This item is what keeps you in human form. You take it off to become the monster._


	2. NOT what Jaden was expecting

**Thank you for the monsters! Though they really ARENT classified as monsters. It's just a broad term… Anyway, if you want, you can still post a monster, but it will be less likely that you will get in, FYI. **

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Zane led Jaden and Syrus through the winding passage of the Day Class side of the Blue dorm. Zane's room was on the edge of the Day Class and Night Class, so the wall right next to it was divided into white and black. He said that Chazz lived on that side, along with his right hand man, Hasselberry.

As they came up to the door, which was the same blue as Zane's jacket and decorated with silver crescent moons and stars, they heard a scuffle inside. Zane sighed, annoyed, and gently rapped on his door.

"DAMMIT, FANGIRL! GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" He roared.

"I'M NOT A GODDAMN FANGIRL!" A girl roared back. The door opened and a girl with downward-pointing spiky, strawberry blonde girl peered out with cobalt eyes. She saw Zane and opened it further. Jaden could see that she was wearing black dress pants, a tight-fitting green T-shirt that said "I can only make one person happy at a time. Today is not your day. Tomorrow's not looking to promising either..." She was also wearing a dull green ribbon around her left wrist and a dull bronze locket around her neck, to complement her lightly tanned skin.

"Oh, H'lo Leslie," Zane said kind of sheepishly. "What the hell are you doing in my room?"

"It's the best place to practice! You have ALL of the best instruments and ingredients for potions! It's SO hard to find Ashwinder eggs around here…" Leslie trailed off.

"Wait, why are you making a love potion?" Zane inquired.

"Oh, nothing!" she said hastily. Zane raised an eyebrow.

"Well please go get Shara and Alicia, so that we can show our human friend here what this school hosts," Zane ordered. Leslie nodded and sped off to fetch their friends. Zane looked inside the room and saw a small cauldron boiling with something, and it smelt wonderful. "Love potion," he murmured. "I suppose she already added a lock of hair, to get it boiling like that, but who is it for? " He spotted about 3 books open, one of them being a Harry Potter book, another being an ingredient book, and the last one a book of love spells and whatnot. What was Leslie Johnson up to?

Leslie could be a little… weird at times, but she was Zane's best friend. His right hand lady, as he was the leader of the Day Class as Chazz was for the Night Class, just not nearly as powerful. Every Halloween, she went as Luna Lovegood, who she was basically an exact replica of except for appearance, maybe.

Zane picked up one of the books, the Harry Potter one. He himself had read the whole series many times, and nearly knew it by heart. It's a great source of spells and potions, even if some of them don't always work. She had circled Luna's name and Harry's name in the book, and drew little hearts around him. Zane felt he was prying, so he snapped the book shut, and placed it back on the bookshelf, just in time for Leslie to get back.

"We're here, Zane" She announced proudly. Zane stared at her. The way her hair fell across her face, the way her eyes sparkled with power far beyond any normal being, the way she stood in his presence. All of it he took note of, for no apparent reason. Must be the Love potion fumes… "Let's get started, then," she said, interrupting his train of thought.

As it turned out, Alicia was a short girl, with pale, shoulder-length brown hair and had black bangs to boot. She had icy green eyes that stared out of fair skin. She was wearing a normal, Obelisk girl's uniform, except with black Capri leggings and black, fingerless gloves. A medallion hung around her neck, and it was engraved with a double bow and arrow symbol. A book was clasped under her arm as she studied the students.

Shara herself was kind of short, but still taller than Alicia: About Jaden's height. Her purple hair reached her waist and her electric blue eyes had a constant look of daydreaming. She was wearing a Slifer jacket, but it was open and a little longer and curvy: more feminine. She wore with pride a silver, heart-shaped locket around her neck.

"OK, then, girls, we are here to show one Jaden Yuki who REALLY goes to this school," Zane said. "We are going to show him your true forms."

"Cool!" Shara grinned. She fumbled at the back of her neck for the clasp on her pendant.

"Wait!" Jaden cried. "What is going on!?" Just then, a soft knock was heard on the open door. All occupants who weren't facing it whirled around to see a tall, pale skinned, black haired teen.

"Ah! Chazz!" Zane exclaimed. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Early? It's like, 7:30 PM!" Jaden pointed out, still completely confused.

Chazz was wearing his normal, black clothes that the loyal anime-viewers see him wear. But this time, he had a crimson crescent moon necklace on that hung down to a little past his chest. He frowned and went over to Zane.

"Zane, I need to talk to you," He whispered. Chazz grabbed Zane's arm: his fingers were freezing cold. "Don't worry," he assured a frantic Syrus. "I only need to borrow him for a few minutes." He smiled a creepy, evil smile.

Chazz pulled Zane out of the room, clasping the door shut firmly behind them. He walked a bit down the hall to the Night Class side.

"Zane," he hissed, his eyes turning scarlet and his pupils turning black and into slits, "what the hell is a human doing here? You know how hard it is for me to resist them, and they have a strong stench about them, too."

"I'm sorry, Chazz," Zane murmured. "I thought you would be asleep, and it was only going to be for a few minutes."

"Well, I _was_ asleep, but that boy's_ stench_ woke me up!" Chazz growled, baring his teeth threateningly. "Next time, I might have to kill you. I _am_ a little thirsty."

Zane's eyes widened. "Oh Chazz! I promise, it won't happen again!" he said, hating how weak he sounded. "And you know that anything is allowed to come here…"

"And so I do, but why does he have to smell so _tasty? (A/N I am NOT doing yaoi. I will NEVER do yaoi)_ And he had to come at the _worst possible time_!"

"Calm down, Chazz," Zane ventured. "I'll get him out of here ASAP."

"Good, and make sure he _never_ comes back in here again, or else I might have to duel him, and you know what happens to losers," Chazz threatened.

"Right. You go back to sleep, and I'll bring the boy out of the dorm." Chazz nodded and finally let go of Zane's arm and stalked back to his room. Zane rubbed the spot, trying to warm it up and to relax it too. When Chazz gets mad, he can over-use his strength a bit. Zane hated feeling so powerless… he never was THIS powerless until Chazz came here in the middle of the summer to apply. Even though Chazz was younger and Zane was in his third year, when he had duelled Chazz he had lost by a landslide. It still hurt…

Only one person had ever defeated Chazz, and she had come and gone before the day was done. After that duel, something had… changed in Chazz, and Zane, as a friend, feared it was for the worse.

Zane stalked back to his room and the Day Class section of the dorm.

"Jaden," he called. "We will have to show you outside. I'm afraid that Chazz will not allow anything to disturb his rest." Jaden didn't like the sound of Chazz. He also wanted to duel him badly!

Zane led the group outside to a little flower garden where he hoped Jaden's scent would be swallowed up by the heavy perfume. "OK," he said, "now we can show Jaden." Shara and Alicia grinned, and unclasped their lockets. There were two different colors of lights that flashed: the first one electric blue and the next one stormy gray.

When Jaden opened his eyes again, he didn't see two girls, but two cats. The first one was purple, with electric blue tipped tail and ears. Halfway up the cat's tail was a bandage. The second one was dark brown, with stormy gray eyes and was about the size of a tabby cat.

Jaden's eyes widened. "Everyone here is a cat?" he asked in shock. Everyone sweat-dropped.

"We prefer the term, Neko," one of them said, the purple one. "but everyone here isn't just a Neko. The broad term is monsters, but we are basically mystical creatures."

"And you?" Jaden asked, turning to Zane and Leslie. Leslie, who was looking at Zane strangely, suddenly whipped her head around.

"We are magical people. Witch and Wizard, sorcerers, whatever," Leslie dismissed.

"Cool! Can you do anything?"

"We'd rather not," Zane muttered.

"Why not?"

"It's unsafe," Leslie said defensively.

"Please?"

"No."

"PLEASE?"

"No!"

"PLLEEAASSSEEE???"

"IF WE DO WILL YOU SHUT UP?!"

"Of course!" Zane and Leslie sighed, exasperated. The two held hands, took a step, and turned on their heel. They disappeared with a pop.

Jaden heard another pop behind him and spun around. They were standing there!

"Whoa! Cool, How'd you do that!?" Jaden exclaimed.

"Practice… Lots and lots of practice… and wizarding blood…" Zane said. Leslie nodded in agreement. Jaden turned on Syrus, who had not spoken and was nercously fingering a bracelet that had a charm shaped like a leaf.

"Syrus?" Jaden asked using only one word, but everyone knew what he was asking.

"It's kind of… embarrassing…" Syrus said under his breath.

"Aww come on! Everyone else showed me!" Just then, Jaden realized that Alicia and Shara were back to their human forms.

"Umm, well, I'm sort of… a fairy?" Syrus replied.

Jaden stared at his friend, then grinned. "Cool!"

"You don't think it's weird?"

"Not at all!"

"Wow," Alicia said suddenly. "It's been a long day. Later," she ended, walking towards the Blue girl's dorm, with Shara following close behind. Nekos stick together, I suppose.

"Bye Zane, see you tomorrow!" Leslie waved and dashed toward the two Neko-girls, who both took off running, laughing.

"I think we should all retire for the night," Zane announced, and that is exactly what they did.

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**Aww man! I wanted at least four monsters, and I got three! PLEASE POST MONSTERS!! And if you already have, PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!! I'm not putting up the next chapter until I get one more at LEAST! And also, THANK YOU FOR THE MONSTERS THOSE WHO HAVE POSTED!!**


	3. What A Dear Auntie

**And…….. we're back! Thank you, MissingExodus for your character's past. If you too, people, want to tell me the history of your character, you can, and I'll probably use it. BUT, you HAVE to PM me. ON WITH THE STORY!!!

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**

Leslie sighed happily in the comfort of her own room. It was decorated with dragons, miniature unicorns and imps, and posters of anything magical you can think of. She had her window open to the fresh morning air and didn't notice the family's barn owl until it started to nibble her ear.

"Ow! Soren!" Leslie whined as she took the letter from the owl. "Next time, just hoot!" she ordered as always. Soren hooted playfully. Leslie rolled her eyes and read the letter.

_Dear Leslie,_

_I have terrible news. A few days ago, your mother died. I suppose the grief of losing your father was too much for her, but they haven't finished the autopsy. Grandma herself suffered a fatal heart attack last week. I'm sorry I couldn't get this to you earlier, but I was busy taking care of you mothers broken heart when __**you**__ should have been here! I'm coming over there as soon as possible to take you home. If you had been here to comfort your mother, we probably wouldn't **be** in this mess._

_Sincerely,_

_Aunt Allura._

Leslie stared at the letter as the words on paper sunk in. Then, the tears welled up in her eyes. Allura made it sound as if _she_ was the guilty one! She hated Aunt Allura, and always will. She had never been nice to Leslie. She opened her mouth and screamed.

* * *

Almost as soon as Leslie had started screaming, Zane started to run. He had been hoping to pick her up for school, but he heard her upset shriek. He darted inside and reached her door just as a crowd was gathering. 

"MOVE!" he ordered. The throng obeyed, as he was the head of the Day Class and Zane opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind him. He gazed at the sobbing Leslie and moved over to sit next to her on the bed.

"Leslie! What's wrong?" He asked. Leslie, who couldn't speak through her sobs, threw the letter at him. He scanned it over. He draped an arm over her shoulder and embraced her. "Oh, Leslie, I'm so sorry," He whispered. Leslie said nothing, just enjoyed the hug and the warmth and comfort that came with it.

The door opened an Alicia and Shara came in. They looked at Zane and Leslie and giggled slightly, but picked up the letter and read it themselves. Then they decided to join the hug too.

"Aww, Leslie! We feel so bad for you!" Shara said.

"You know, you can always duel her!" Alicia said, always up for one. Leslie softly laughed.

"Alright! Enough of this! All you need, Leslie, is a nice, cool glass of milk!" Shara announced. All three other occupants looked up at her, confused looks on their faces. "What?" She asked innocently. "Milk is tasty! Alright, fine, I'll heat it up. Is that what you want?" The group stared at her a little longer, then burst out laughing. Shara grinned. This was partially what she was hoping for… but she _was_ serious about the milk.

Leslie was led down to the Obelisk cafeteria; some of the girls gave Zane some strange looks, but let him go anyway, since the girls he was surrounded by probably invited him. As they sat down at a round table in the corner – corners are always comfiest, especially when you're sad – Shara ventured off into the kitchen. Leslie felt better within the comfort of her friends, but her eyes were still red.

"Hey," said a girl, coming up to them and making herself at home. She had a long, black braid and side-swept green bangs. She also had emerald green eyes that had silver rims and a peachy-and-creamy looking skin and long, pointy ears. She was an elf.

"Um… hello," Alicia said, shy around new people.

"I entered the room and saw you guys in my favourite corner, and people almost _never _go into my corner unless they have had a life-changing, depressing occurrence," the girl rambled on. Shara came in with a tall glass of white milk on a tray. "OH HELLO!" the girl grinned happily, suddenly directing her attention away.

"Um…" Shara started, unsure of what to do with this new girl. Then, the girl finally got what was wrong.

"OH!" she gasped. "I haven't introduced myself! My name is Emerald Jolie Kimana," she introduced, getting up and bowing. "But you may call me Em or Emi."

"Nice to meet you, Emi," Zane said, "but is there a reason you are here?"

Emerald grinned. "Of course! I saw Leslie here looking all sad, and me, being the kind, compassionate person I am, decided to come over here and – oh look! A black butterfly!" Emerald giggled, pointing up near a high window. What looked like a black monarch was fluttering around it. It flew down and rested on Emerald's finger while everyone sweat-dropped at her sudden change of subject. Emerald brought her finger and the butterfly to her ear, as if listening to it, and even nodding.

Suddenly, she looked up and grinned at Leslie. "My beautiful butterfly here says that there has been a sighting of a yacht headed toward the island. One person even screamed 'Poseidon has come!' even though it was obviously a woman. Are you expecting anyone, dear Leslie?"

Leslie thought about that, then slowly nodded, taking a sip of the milk Shara gave her. "Yes, I'm expecting my aunt. Although why she didn't Apparate, I have no idea…"

"Probably didn't want to end up in the wrong place…" Zane trailed, but Leslie knew what he meant. She giggled slightly.

"She probably wants to duel me," Leslie sighed, getting up and placing the milk on the tray for the dorm's cat to lick up. "I'd better get going." Duel disk on arm, Leslie grabbed her book bag and ran out of the dorm and towards the dock. Her friends, now including Emerald, ran after her, calling for her to slow down and wait up.

* * *

Jaden stared at the ceiling, blankly wondering what woke him up. Then he heard a humming in the background and it sounded like a ship. Jaden jumped off of the top bunk and woke up Syrus. Then, without waiting for anyone, he ran out to the docks. 

As it turned out, there was already a crowd there. On person was hyperventilating and saying that Poseidon had come to kill them all. Jaden looked out and gasped. In long, black robes was a witch, who had black hair pulled back into a short, low and stiff ponytail. She had chocolate brown eyes and tan skin like Leslie's.

As it drew closer, Leslie, Zane, Alicia, Shara, and a girl he didn't know found him, and Syrus came soon after, grumbling at how early it was. The sun was _just_ coming up…

"Who's that?" Jaden asked the group. Leslie sighed, and looked Jaden straight in the eye.

"That is my Aunt Allura. She's come to take me back home."

* * *

**Sorry it's so short, I couldn't resist ending it there! And Ultimate Soldier, I'll get your guy in next chapter, I promise. My oh my, I've used a lot of Leslie in this… each character will get their moments, I swear. It's Leslie's turn, since she was the first one. Next Chapter… Two characters will duel. Who? I'm not telling…**


	4. Shocking Discoveries

**Sorry this took so long to update. I was procrastinating, and… if you want a better excuse… had difficulty deciding who should win, and what cards they should have. Enjoy Chapter 4!!!**

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Leslie's Aunt Allura came riding in on yacht, stirring up the waves and wind with her abnormally large magical powers that emanated from her very aura. 

When she jumped off, everyone could tell she was in a bad mood. She stalked over to Zane and Leslie, pushing relentlessly through the crowd and pushing Syrus and Jaden to the side rather roughly. Zane glared at Allura for this, but did nothing but wait for her to confront them.

"I want Leslie _now_," Allura ordered Zane. "She's coming home!"

"No!" Leslie protested, hiding behind Zane.

"I'm afraid that isn't up to you to decide," Zane replied, allowing Leslie to hide.

"Oh?" Allura asked incredulously. "And who does?"

"If you conceal the sun, I'm sure he'll come out," Zane said simply. "I'm sure you have the power to do that."

"Of course!" she huffed. She turned toward the ocean and raised her arms, chanting something under her breath. Clouds above began to swirl and expand, quickly turning into storm clouds and covering the sun with thick, gray layers.

* * *

Chazz growled uncomfortably. This has been the second time he's been woken up in two days. He stared out of his window at the unnatural thunderstorm and summoned Hasselberry. 

"Yessir! Reporting for duty, sir!" Hassleberry said.

"Come with me, and get Light. We are going down to the docks to see what this goddamn thunderstorm is about."

"Yessir!" Hasselberry replied as he ran out of the room. He soon returned with a boy that had white hair, blue eyes, and tan skin. He had bandages wrapped around his chest, hands, neck, and arms that showed underneath a black trench coat. He was Light Lopez, somewhat of a messenger between the Day and Night Classes, but still was officially part of the Night Class. He was grouchy at being interrupted in sleep also, but he couldn't disobey Chazz. Not if he wanted to keep his life.

"What, Chazz," he asked groggily.

"We're going to the docks."

* * *

As Zane had said, before long, Chazz could be seen coming down to the docks. Allura grinned. _A vampire,_ she thought,_ perfect. I haven't hunted one in a while._

"Ah, you must be Chazz," Allura said in a polite, yet cold manner. "I am—"

"Are you the cause of this storm?" Chazz interrupted.

"I-I, um, yes," Allura admitted." I wanted to take Leslie back home with me!" she said, her eyes turning icy.

"Go ahead." There was absolute silence. Leslie and Zane glared at Chazz. "I was kidding!" He said. "Geez… OK, if you want her, you have to duel me," he said to Allura. "Let's go."

"Now?"

"No, at the Duel field, idiot." Allura fumed at being called an idiot, but restrained herself from striking back. She then noticed his Item, his crimson moon. Allura knew what Items were for… _Strange,_ she thought. _No other vampire had an Item before…

* * *

_

"Alright, Allura," Chazz said, once everyone was situated at the duel field, "Let's start!" He activated his black duel disk while Allura activated her light blue one.

The duel arena was divided into two halves, one black, and the other white. The Night Class sat on the black side whilst the Day Class sat on the white.

Just before they started the duel, three more people came running in. One was a red-head, one with black hair, and the last with dirty blonde, and they were all girls. The red-head was wearing a yellow mini-skirt (none of the skirts are super-mini, like the original Obelisk skirt) and a long sleeve, yellow top that was tight around the chest and showed her mid-drift. The black-haired girl was wearing a pink top of similar style of the red-head's one, only with frilly short sleeves instead. The dirty blonde was wearing an icy blue top with long sleeves that reached down to her knuckles, and it was also tight around the chest, but this time there was more cloth, so it fluffed out in an A-cut. They were all wearing mini-skirts the same color as their tops.

"Sorry we're late," the dirty blonde apologized. "Mindy here wouldn't get up," she explained, motioning to the black-haired girl.

"It's fine, Alexis," Chazz said, impatient. "Just hurry up and take your seats!" The dirty blonde – who Jaden now knew was Alexis – nodded and took her two friends to sit in the last three seats open… and one was right between Zane and Jaden, the other two were right beside Light, who sat a few rows down and a few columns over, near the edge of the Day Class sections. Alexis took the single seat while her friends gladly took the seats next to Light.

"Li-Li!" They cried happily, hugging him around the shoulders from either side.

"SNEAK ATTACK! HELP!" He yelped and fell over the back of his chair. Everyone laughed, and the duel started.

"Ladies first," Chazz offered as his amulet started to faintly glow.

"You'll regret it," Allura replied, drawing her sixth card. "I summon Amazon Archer in attack mode! (1400/1000)"

"Why Amazoness cards?" Zane asked Leslie.

"Aunt Allura believes in the power of the females," she explained.

"Oh," Alicia butted in, sitting on Leslie's other side, "That sort of makes sense…"

"Yeah, but wouldn't she need more monster cards?" Emerald asked.

"Oh, well, she has some spellcasters in there," Leslie replied.

"I end my turn with a facedown!" Allura announced.

"Fine by me!" Chazz said, drawing his sixth card. "I summon Vampire Lady and attack your Amazon Archer!"

"I activate Dramatic Rescue!" Allura interrupted. "No, since you targeted my Amazon Archer, I can return her to my hand and special summon Amazoness Swords Woman!"

Chazz's Vampire Lady destroyed the Amazoness, but instead, he took the damage because of its effect, making his LP **3950**. Chazz glared and placed one card facedown and ended his turn.

Allura drew her card. "I summon Amazoness Paladin! (1700/300) Now, attack his Vampire Lady!" Vampire Lady was destroyed, making Chazz's LP **3800**.

"He's losing!" Leslie whined.

"Don't worry!" Jaden encouraged her. "It ain't over 'till the Fat Lady sings! Or, erm, in this case, 'till the last card is played!"

Allura looked at one card in her hand, debating whether or not to use it. She finally placed it down and ended her turn.

"About time!" Chazz snarled. "I summon Double Coston and I play Kishido Spirit! Now, when my monsters battle with another one of equal attack points, they are not destroyed! Double Coston, attack her Paladin!" The female warrior was destroyed ruthlessly. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn!"

Allura's finger hesitated above the button to activate her facedown, still debating whether or not to use it. She took her hand away and drew her card. "I summon Amazoness Blowpiper (800/1500) in attack mode! Nest, I activate Amazoness Spellcaster! I choose one monster on you field and one of my Amazonesses and switch the original attack points of each. Now, Amazoness Blowpiper, attack his Double Coston!"

**Chazz: 3300**

**Allura: 4000**

"I can't believe it!" Leslie wailed. "Chazz is getting his ass kicked! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LET ME STAY HERE YOU –" Leslie was silenced by Zane and Alicia putting their hands over her mouth. Chazz ignored her comment as Allura ended her turn.

Chazz drew his card. "I summon Immortal Werewolf! Next, I activate Ultimate Offering! By giving up 500 Life Points (**2800**) I can summon another monster, and I choose Pyramid Turtle (1200/1400)! I activate Dubious Red Moon! Now, if I discard a Zombie-type monster from my hand, I increase my Life Points by its attack points! I discard Despair from the Dark and get 2800 Life Points! (**5600)** I activate Ultimate Offering again **(5100**) and sacrifice my Immortal Werewolf to summon…" Chazz paused for dramatic effect as his werewolf was sucked into the ground. "Vampire Lord! Pyramid Turtle, attack her Blowpiper!"

**Allura: 3600 and one facedown she is reluctant to use**

**Chazz: 5100, Vampire Lord (2000/1500) and Pyramid Turtle, two face downs and Ultimate Offering. **

"Chazz is winning!" Leslie shouted happily.

"Of course he is!" Zane replied. "He is basically undefeated!"

"Vampire Lord, attack her directly!" (Allura:** 1600**) "Since he dealt damage to you, you have to discard from your deck a card type I call, and I call Monster!" Allura grudginly discarded Amazoness Tiger.

"I activate…" Allura started and hesitated again. Then, pure hatred shone in her eyes and she continued "Memorial Intrusion!" (I made that up) A trap card flipped face up, its picture showing a army of teeny warriors and a brain.

"What does THAT do, Zane?" Leslie asked. She had never seen her Aunt use a card like that.

"I don't know," he answered after a short pause. "I've never even heard of that card before."

"I end my turn," Chazz said.

"And I start mine!" Allura drew a card. "I summon Magician's Valkyria (1600/1800) and equip it with Axe of Despair! (2600/1800) Now I attack your Vampire Lord! (Chazz: **4500**) "

Suddenly, Chazz gasped, crouching and clutching his heart. Allura stood stock still with her eyes closed and moving quickly back and forth, like she was in the REM stage of sleep.

"What's happening!?" Leslie cried helplessly.

"I-I…don't know…" Zane trailed. Suddenly, Leslie hugged him around his shoulders, as she started to sob. Zane put one arm awkwardly around her shoulder and she welcomed his return hug again. Zane noticed that Memorial Intrusion had activated. "hmm…"

Chazz was in great pain, poignant at the most it seemed, but also physical in some way. As soon as it had started, it stopped. He stayed stock still, gasping for air.

Allura also opened her eyes, her body shaking with anger and hatred as she pointed an accusing finger at Chazz.

"You monster!" She cried. "How could you do that!?"

"I-I didn't…" He tried to explain, as he looked up with pain in his eyes. Jaden gasped at how much of it there was.

"Don't say that!" She continued to shriek.

"That wasn't for you to see!" Chazz shouted.

"HOW CAN YOU DO THAT TO YOUR OWN FAMILY YOU…YOU… YOU…" Allura couldn't think of a word bad enough.

"What the hell is happening????" Zane asked, jumping down to the field. "Tell us now," he ordered. Chazz glared at him, standing up and swaying a bit before righting himself.

"_She_," he said the word with such venom, "peeked into my memories where she wasn't welcome!"

"How is that possible?" Leslie asked incredulously, joining Zane.

"That goddamn card of hers…" Chazz muttered.

"In his past he…" Allura started.

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL THEM!" Chazz roared, his eyes turning scarlet and his canines growing long and pointed. Light and Hasselberry jumped down in case he lost it.

Allura continued anyway. "He murdered his parents and just refrained from killing his brothers too!" The whole arena grew dead quiet. What did she just say?

"Chazz, is this true?" Zane asked, not at all accusing, but merely curious.

Chazz looked down, his face changing from anger to remorse. "I-I… I didn't mean to…"

"How do you NOT mean to kill your parents?" Leslie shouted at him. He didn't look up or even change his facial expression, just looked sadder.

"It was the day I changed…"

_--Flashback in Chazz's POV --_

_It was the day after I got bit by a vampire, so I had completely become a monster. I didn't know what to do, so since I thought I had my cravings for blood and anger under control, I decided to go home._

_There, my parents shouted at me for not being home earlier and accused me of fooling off and getting drunk with my friends. My dad even had his belt in his hands._

_I lost it so quickly… I attacked them and killed them both. My brothers came in and tried to stop me, but I just knocked them down and continued. When they got up, I turned on them too. Slade grabbed me, but I bit down hard on his hand and he let go. I attacked Jagger, and he couldn't do anything, so I infected him also. _

_I refrained from killing them and broke down sobbing in a corner. I was fighting my instincts: the whole place smelt of blood and the taste of it was in my mouth. Surprisingly, where they would have gotten mad at me, they just looked sadly over at me. They knew what I had become, and knew what they were to become, and they knew that coming closer would just result in their deaths._

_They left the room for about an hour and came back with three amulets. The amulets were bought from a magician to help control our instincts as vampires. _

_--End of Flashback --_

Chazz had sat down again, and Leslie had joined him. His past was_ already_ more horrible than hers could ever be. It was the right thing to do to comfort him just this once, right? She put one arm around his shoulders and hugged him. She felt like she was hugging a rock, but did it anyway. He did nothing but accepted her act of kindness.

"Leslie!" Allura roared. "Get away from that monster before he kills you too!" Leslie looked up at her aunt and glared. Shara, Emerald, and Alicia had come down, and glared at her too.

"You know what?" Leslie said defiantly. "No. I am an individual, and I am not going to do what you say! I am staying at Duel Academy, and you have no say in it! I'm tired of people making decisions for me!"

"Yeah!" Shara and Emerald exclaimed, and went over to Leslie, lifted her up off of the ground, and hugged her.

"But… the duel…" Allura trailed.

"I suggest you leave," Zane said.

"Hmph! As _if_!" Allura retorted. "If you think I'm leaving my niece with that blood-sucking _leech_, you are so wrong!" No one noticed Chazz stand up.

"I assure you, he would never harm the students," Zane tried in vain.

"No!" Allura growled. "He murdered his parents, there's no telling what he'll do next!"

"You shut up!" Chazz roared, leaping towards Allura. No one, not even he, noticed a tiny, miniscule shard of red flicker and drop.

"NO!" Leslie and Zane shouted together. Without thinking, Zane raised his hand, and four stone hands leapt out of the ground and grabbed Chazz's legs and arms, restricting him. He would've been able to break them easy-peasy if Leslie hadn't been infusing them with water. Both of the teen sorcerers were straining their powers as far as it would go.

"Let go of me!" Chazz spat at them. They shook their heads, still concentrating as hard as physically possible.

"Haha!" Allura laughed. "Too weak! Sorcerers are the ultimate!" Silence again. "Oh crap," She said as all occupants of the room glared at her. Even Chazz, Leslie, and Zane stopped, the stone hands crumbling.

Allura was chased out by about 250 monsters, those who could had taken off their amulets, save for the Trolls. And Leslie and Zane, who collapsed to the ground, leaning against each other. And Chazz, who just sat down where he was.

"I don't think… she'll be coming… back again," Leslie panted. Zane nodded, smiling. He was happy that Leslie wouldn't leave. Leslie put her head to Zane's chest and listened to his frantic heart. Zane kissed the top of her head. Leslie said nothing, but smiled, as Zane blushed. Chazz had left, to give them privacy.

"I guess it's unanimous, then," Leslie joked.

"Yes. I love you," Zane whispered.

"I love you too, Zany."

* * *

**And that's where I leave you. MissingExodus, please don't hurt me for making you character be nice to Chazz! –ducks under desk – Hope the bf/gf thing with Zane makes up for that! '.';**


	5. A New Student

**I think I'm going in order of which I received the reviews so up next is… Syrus Fanatic 4-Ever's turn!! Haha… enjoy…**

It didn't take long for the whole school to find out that Zane and Leslie are an item now. It really is a shame that Zane leaves at the end of this year, but maybe their relationship can go long distance.

Alicia was completely and utterly jealous.

…OK, not THAT jealous, but jealous nonetheless. Just not to the point of war.

Alicia was doodling in her notebook at her spot next to Syrus and now Alexis during Dr. Crowler's class. She was tired: she didn't sleep too well last night. Alexis was observing her with a curious and nosy eye.

"Miss Tyler!" Dr. Crowler called suddenly.

"Yes ma'am! Uh, I mean, Yessir! I mean… Yessirma'am!" Alicia stumbled over her tongue, standing up so suddenly that her chair was knocked backwards. The class roared with laughter as Alicia blushed, picked up her chair, and slumped down in her seat and Crowler had a look too powerful and indescribable for words.

"Detention!" Crowler growled and gave a sleeping Jaden one too.

"What's up?" Alexis whispered.

"Nothing," Alicia replied, also in whisper. "Nothing that you would care about."

"Oh, I disagree. You are my friend, and friends look out for one another!" Alexis said.

Syrus joined the conversation. "What's wrong, Ali?"

"Mind your own beeswax," Alicia retorted to both of them.

"Alexis and Syrus! Detention!" Crowler shouted. Then muttered something like, "Stupid slackers talking in MY class…"

The bell rang minutes later. Jaden, Syrus, Alicia and Alexis stayed behind.

"Alexis Rhodes, I am VERY disappointed in you. You are the top of my class, and I expect more from a responsible creature such as yourself. As for you, Alicia. What happened? You use to be so quiet, so obedient. I will not have you step out of character, Miss Tyler!"

"Sorry, Dr. Crowler…" Alexis and Alicia muttered together.

"Syrus, you had NO reason to be talking with them! Jaden… you know why. You were sleeping again…"

"Sorry Dr. Crowler," the boys murmured, though Alicia could tell they weren't really sorry.

"You will all be at this classroom at 8:00 sharp tonight."

"Yes, Dr. Crowler."

"You may leave."

"Thank you, Dr. Crowler."

As soon as the four teens were outside, they burst into laughter for no apparent reason. Syrus and Alicia were leaning against each other, tears streaming out of their eyes from laughing.

Soon, their fit was over, and the small group split up. Alicia and Syrus headed towards Alchemy while Jaden and Alexis went to gym.

"Hey, I heard that Professor Banner is getting a new helper!" Syrus chatted to Alicia.

"Really? Who?" Alicia replied.

"I don't know. But EVERYONE is talking about the person!" Syrus said. They reached the classroom, and joined the students filing in. The pupils took their seats, and Syrus and Alicia sat next to each other. The children stared blankly at the laptops in front of them as Professor Banner walked in holding Pharaoh. Was it me, or do all the dorms have cats?

"OK class," Professor Banner started. "We are going to start a project on transmutation circles today!" Everyone groaned… except for that one girl in the front who shouted eagerly. "Thank you Kris. Now, to help us out, I have a new assistant. His name is Aster Phoenix. Please give him a heart-felt welcome!" Professor Banner started solely clapping as a beautiful young boy walked, if not rather stiffly, into the room. He had silver, shoulder-length hair with choppy bangs and pristine blue eyes. Already, half of the girls in the classroom had wedding plans running through their minds. Oh great, fangirls.

Only one girl didn't even think about how his eyes sparkled, or how his skin glowed. Alicia. She had only one person on her mind.

"OK, if you have any questions, ask Aster for help. Me? I gotta go and gather supplies. For the project, you must each choose a type of transmuting circle, study about it, then try to perform it for the class." As Professor Banner left the class, the students slowly opened their laptops (except for Kris, who opened it eagerly) and pushed the on button.

Alicia's screen remained black, though it glowed and had all the sounds of being on. She impatiently drummed her fingers on the keyboard until she came to a conclusion and raised her hand.

"Um, Aster, I think my computer's possessed," She said. Some of the class giggled, and Aster calmly walked over, a girl or two turning green with envy and thinking up Evil Plans to get him to talk to them.

He stared at her screen for a little bit, the gears of his mind turning, until an idea came to him. He typed a few letters and numbers into the keyboard, pressed enter, and said:

"There, that should do it." The whole computer glowed with a black aura, then the aura suddenly dissolved into thin air and the screen returned to normal.

"Thanks," She said, as he traversed the classroom to another girl who had "Computer problems." Who doesn't know how to sign in, really? Alicia shook her head in disapproval.

"God, all I can find are Full Metal Alchemist videos on Youtube!" Syrus complained.

"The reality show?" Alicia asked. Syrus nodded. "Yeah, me too." So, Syrus magically pulled out headphones, plugged it into his computer, and he and Alicia had time to watch two whole episodes of FMA together on the laptops until the end of class.

* * *

"Oh-em-gee, did you guys see that Aster kid today?" Emerald gushed to Syrus, Alicia, Jaden, Shara, and Alexis.

"Um, no one says O-M-G, and yes," Alicia replied. "Half of the girls... scratch that, ALL of them... in my class were forming evil plans on how to be wed to him."

"Lolz…" Emi said.

"Emi, stop it…" Alexis warned.

"Fiiiine, I'll stop talking in text-speak…" she sighed. "But he's _sooo_ cute!"

"Is it me," Shara said, "or are you more hyper than usual?"

"Sorry, my parents sent me a whole basket of Easter candy last night!" Emi chattered.

"Oh boy…" Jaden trailed. "You are going to have a crash tomorrow morning, for sure."

"Probably," Emerald agreed.

"Hey, you're that girl who had the possessed computer," Kris said, approaching the group. Now that Alicia could see her better, she could see that Kris had one dark green eye, one dark blue eye, and had dirty blonde hair with blue streaks. She was wearing a dark blue tee-shirt and jeans, which both had light blue paw prints dotted on them, and a red blazer of the Slifer dorm.

"And you're that girl who was the only one excited to learn about transmutation circles…" Alicia replied blandly. "I'm tired, I'm going to bed."

"But we still have two more classes!" Syrus protested.

"Make something up," Alicia said, waving carelessly behind her as she headed towards the girl's dorm.

"Is she usually like this…?" Kris asked.

"Well, she's usually quiet, not brain-dead," Jaden offered to his old friend.

"Hey!" Syrus defended. "She's not brain-dead! She's just… tired!"

"Whoa, sorry, didn't mean to bash your _girlfriend_," Kris apologized, if not sarcastically.

"She's not my girlfriend," Syrus said quietly, blushing, as Kris raced Jaden to their next class.

"C'mon, Sy," Emerald said. "Let's head to gym!"

* * *

**Sorry about not updating. I think **_**I**_** was the one brain-dead for a few weeks! Heheheh… But here you go, and I'll try to update faster next time!**

* * *


	6. Alicia's Rescue

****

So each character will get about two chapters. I'll try to make them as juicy and long as the next, but there are no satisfaction guarantees. Enjoy!

* * *

Alicia sat on her bed, crumpled balls of paper strewn around her. Her pen scratched her notebook with mindless words that she desperately tried to form sentences with. Her emotions were _totally_ messing with her! That _had_ to be it!

Alicia decided she needed a drink of water. She stood up, filled a glass up at the bathroom sink, and sat by her window, staring out at the frolicking wildlife. Suddenly, she sensed another presence in her room, but before she could react, a damp cloth was pushed against her nose and mouth, and she slipped into unconsciousness.

_"I have you now!"_

* * *

When Alicia struggled back to Earth, she found herself in a dark area, and she couldn't really see her surroundings. She was on a hugely uncomfortable steel floor, and when she ventured forward, she found she was behind bars.

"DAMMIT!" she yelled, her voice echoing back to her. She sat down on the cold floor. "I hate being the damsel in distress. That is _totally_ not my thing," she fumed. She tried a few well-placed kicks to the bars, but only ended up injuring her foot. She found a coin in her pocket and started flipping it between her fingers.

"Guess I have to wait for a knight in shining armour," she muttered dryly.

* * *

"Hey, have you guys seen Alicia?" Syrus asked the group after school. He was met with a chorus of nos.

"She's probably still sleeping, Sy," Jaden offered. Then Syrus noticed Leslie without Zane.

"Hey, where's Zane?" He asked her. Leslie sighed.

"Even we need time apart." She stood up. "C'mon, if you're really worried, let's all look for Alicia."

* * *

"Shouldn't we alert someone?" Shara tentatively wondered out loud. The group was staring at the dark forest and the ominous volcano in the distance. "It's going to be dark soon…" The worry and fright was plain on her face.

"Aww, don't worry, Shara!" Jaden chattered cheerfully, slapping her on the back. "We'll be in and out in no time!"

"I'd like to believe so," she muttered, not at all her bubbly nature. She grudgingly followed her friends into the forest of Academy Island.

* * *

Alicia had long since gotten bored of flipping a coin between her fingers when it had slipped for the 15th time in a row. She was now measuring the perimeter of the area in which she was being held.

"OK, ten paces that way, 8 paces this way, eleven paces that wa—AH THIS IS HOPELESS!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in a clearing, the group was stopped. "Um, Jay, the sun is _touching_ the horizon. We need to go back!" Alexis pointed out. Jaden sighed.

"Fiiiine…" he gave in.

"Don't worry, Sy, we'll find her tomorrow!" Emerald said confidently.

"Okay… wait, why are you saying that to me?" Syrus replied.

"Uh… I have my own reasons?" Emerald suggested and shrugged. "She's tough, she can take care of herself for one night." Syrus nodded sadly, and they turned around to leave. However, something above them roared. They looked up to find a bright white dragon that reminded some of them as a Blue Eyes Shining Dragon. It swooped down and landed in the clearing, blasting them with gusts of wind. It closed its eyes, and a medallion-type necklace appeared around its neck. A flash of pale blue light, and (ironically) Light was standing where the dragon was.

_"Light!?"_ Alexis nearly screamed.

"Ciao!" he grinned. "What are you doing so close to sun down?"

"Um…" Leslie trailed, unsure of where to start.

"We're looking for Alicia!" Syrus said firmly. Then almost wished he didn't say that when he saw the stare Light was giving him.

"When did she go missing?" He asked.

"We don't know exactly, but she wasn't in her room," Shara offered.

"Hmm… Well, you can't go around at night, since none of you are hunters…" for some reason, he looked at Kris strangely. Jaden saw this look. _Uh oh, hope he doesn't know her secret!_ Jaden thought. "But what if I escort you?" Everyone was shocked.

"What!" Alexis's jaw nearly reached the ground.

"But, but, but…" Syrus started dumbfounded.

"We can't, we, as Day students, can't go around at night!" Emerald pointed out. Light grinned again.

"But I am a Night student, which means _I_ can," he replied.

"But why would you help us?" Kris growled. "And even if you do, what about the… _hunters?_"

"Well… I'm a monster, you're a monster…" Light smiled as his words hung in the air.

"Well then, let's go!" Syrus blurted. Everyone nodded in agreement, and they took off through the forest once more.

* * *

It was impossible to find a comfortable spot on the hard steel. At least, in human form. Alicia warmed up a spot with the human form's superior body heat, then unclasped her medallion and curled up as a neko.

"Much better," she murmured and started to doze off. However, something poked and shocked her, jerking her awake. "HEY!"

"_Hay is right_," a voice said, and threw some at her. Alicia shook it off her head and hissed at the voice. The voice just laughed, sounding slippery, deep, and hoarse. Alicia pressed her head between the bars and bared her teeth in the direction the voice was coming from.

"Show yourself, coward!" she demanded. The voice chuckled, and Alicia was blinded momentarily as the owner struck a match and lit a candle. Alicia tried desperately to blink the hole in her vision away. It was blocking the face of her captor. It finally disappeared, and she got a good look at the owner of the voice. She yowled in surprise, for the thing wasn't human at all.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Kris asked the group.

"Yeah, it sounded like…" Shara started. Then she looked up in horror. "A cat!"

"It came from the volcano!" Leslie added. They started running again.

"Wait!" Light called. The group stopped and turned to look at him. "I have a better idea," he said. He grasped his necklace, which had a phoenix and a dragon medallion on it, and tore it off. A pale blue light filled the scene once more, and a dragon stood in his place. "_Get on!_" Light ordered. They clambered on, and Light took off toward the volcano.

"You know, for once, you've been useful to us!" Shara laughed. Light growled.

"_Don't make me toss you off._"

"Jeez, she's just teasin' ya!" Jaden defended.

"Oh just chill, all of you!" Emerald fumed. They reached the base of the volcano and Light returned to human form.

"OK, here now starts Alicia's rescue!" Syrus announced proudly.

* * *

Alicia stared in disbelief at the sight in front of her. It was a humanoid figure, sure, but only slightly. It had patched of worn out fur here and there, and from the waist down, legs tapered into just wisps of something that looked smoky. The skin was mottled gray, and the nails were long, broken, and a puke-ish yellow. The face carried a lopsided grin, with black and yellow teeth, a few missing here and there, and many more broken and decaying. It was completely bald, and the eyes were pale yellow, the ears hairy, the nose long and bent many times over. The lips were pale and cracked everywhere. Alicia could see through the gaps in the teeth that the tongue was black. But the eye color… the irises were pure white.

"Wh-what are you?" Alicia asked, despite her efforts not to sound scared. The thing's eye held her gaze.

"_I have no name,_" the thing said in its whispery and hoarse voice. It obviously wasn't used to talking. "_But you are free to keep me company!"_ it chuckled.

"Uh, I have a life," she said, turning around and replacing her amulet. She returned to her humanoid form and faced the creature again. "And I need to get back to it, thank you very mu—" she didn't get to finish her sentence. She cut herself off when she heard footsteps pounding and splashing in a tunnel she couldn't see adjoining the larger vicinity.

And about a second later, Syrus, Jaden, Leslie, Shara, Emerald, Light, Kris and Alexis entered the area. The thing grinned lopsidedly again.

"_More Company,"_ it chuckled.

"Alicia!" Syrus called out.

"Syrus! Help!" Alicia responded as the thing glided (no feet, remember?) in front of her.

"_She's my company! You can't take her back!"_ it howled.

"I'll duel you for her, then!" Syrus demanded without faltering, raising his duel disk in front of him. The creature smiled and snickered.

"_Okay, then,_" he replied, _"Shu."_

"My name's Syrus!" he cried.

"Duel!" they both shouted. The creature drew five while Syrus drew six.

"I play Pot of Greed!" he shouted. He drew two cards. "And since I drew Watapon outside of my draw phase, I get to special summon him to the field!" A cute little puffball emerged, and Syrus held up another card. "I sacrifice Watapon to summon Airknight Parsath (1900/1400)!" A centaur-like creature was put forth. "Next, I equip it with Malevolent Nuzzler (2600 ATK), place two cards face down, and end my turn."

"_My turn,_" the thing spoke. (A/N: I'm making up most of his cards, so don't be surprised if you have no idea what the heck that card is!) "_I summon Decaying Corpse in attack mode!_"(100/200) A humanoid figure appeared from the ground, its flesh hanging off of it in large patches and a few of its ribs and skull showing. It only had one eye, and about half of the face had no skin. "_I place three cards face down and end my turn,_" it said, cackling.

_Why would he summon THAT?_ Syrus thought as he drew a card. "I summon Nurse Reficule the Fallen One!" A woman completely covered in bandages and a bandage dress and large, bat-like wings was summoned. "Nurse Reficule, attack his Decaying Corpse!" Decaying Corpse exploded into pixels.

_"Activate special ability!_" the thing announced. "_I take no battle damage this turn, and your Nurse Reficule the Fallen One gets destroyed!_"

"Oh no!" Syrus shielded himself as his Nurse disintegrated. He growled, "I place one card face down and end my turn."

"_I activate Ring of Destruction, and destroy your Airknight Parsath!"_ the creature yelled. (**Syrus and the Thing: 1400**) "_Next, I activate Red Medicine! I get 500 more life points, while you lose 500 due to Fire Princess' effect! _**(Syrus: 900 Thing: 1800)** _Fire Princess, direct attack!"_

"I activate Magic Cylinder!" Syrus countered. "I negate your attack, and you take damage equal to Fire Princess's attack points!" The Thing growled at this. **(Thing: 500)**

_"I end my turn."_

"And I start mine," Syrus said, drawing. "I summon Meltiel, Sage of the Sky in attack mode! (1600/1200) Next, I activate Coffin Seller! Meltiel, attack his Fire Princess!" Fire Princess was destroyed, and the thing's LP went down to 200. "And don't forget about my Coffin Seller! You lose 300 points of damage if one of your monsters was sent to the grave!" (**Thing: 0)**

To everyone's surprise, the thing started wailing._ "Why! Why do you have to be so __**mean**__! Wahh, I want my mommy!"_Alicia tried desperately not to laugh, and ended up coughing slightly.

"Um… Well, you _did_ kidnap me," she pointed out. "Can I go back to my life now?"

The thing sniffled. "_Sure, but please visit me?_" he asked, waving his hand as the bars disappeared.

"Uh, sure," Syrus said. "We'll visit you." Suddenly, he was thrown sideways by one Alicia Tyler hugging him.

"Syrus, thank you for saving me!" she squealed. Syrus blushed.

"Ah, you're welcome?" some of the others giggled.

"Looks like that is the start of a beautiful relationship," Leslie said, and they all laughed.

* * *

**WHOO!! CHAPTER FINISHED!! It took me a while to figure out how I would torture poor Alicia… mwahahaha… **


	7. Movie Madness!

**Who should I torture next? Ah… Shara Neko is my next victim! HAHAHAHAHA!!**

* * *

Light stared solemnly at the ground while Hasselberry hovered over him.

"You know I outta report you to Chazz for this," Hasselberry growled. Light looked up, his eyes showing no fear.

"I did what I thought was right, there was a girl in trouble!" he countered. Hasselberry sighed.

"I'll let you off this time with only a warning. Next time, ask before you take any Day Class students with you!"

* * *

Shara slid her cards apart so that she could look at them all.

"Ah, with you guys, I'll never lose!" she spoke to them. She grinned at her cards and put them back in their case. Shara stood up and faced the doorway, only to find Jaden there.

"Ah!" she shouted in surprise. "Jaden! You startled me."

"Sorry," he replied. "Talking to your cards again?" Shara blushed.

"Uh… sorta?"

"Hey, we're having a movie marathon tonight in my room, wanna come?" Jaden asked.

"Um… sure, I got nothing to do," Shara agreed. Jaden smiled.

"Great! Now, I just need to find Alicia, Syrus, and Zane…"

* * *

"What is it that you want to show me?" Alicia asked Syrus as they scrambled through the underbrush.

"You'll find out, we're almost there!" Syrus replied happily and proudly. They struggled through the vegetation for another minute or so, before they burst out into a clearing. "Tada!"

Alicia gasped. The clearing was picturesque, with small purple, pink, yellow, and white wildflowers undulating in large clumps. A white, large stone covered in squishy moss rested in the centre and a stream bubbled at the opposite edge. Birds twittered, squirrels chattered, and bees buzzed.

"Sy, it's beautiful!" Alicia exclaimed. He blushed.

"I found it a while ago while exploring," he said as he led Alicia to the stone. She sat down first, closed her eyes, and breathed in the light perfume of the flowers. Syrus sat next to her, and Alicia looked at him. They leaned in closer…

"There you guys are!" They leapt apart. They glanced upwards to find Jaden grinning at them.

"What?" Alicia asked impatiently.

"Movie Madness!" he laughed. "Tonight at my dorm! Wanna come?"

"Sure, I guess, we've got nothing better to do," Syrus shrugged. Alicia agreed quickly, inside hating Jaden for the time being for ruining the moment.

* * *

That night, Shara, Jaden, Syrus, Alicia, Leslie, Zane, Emerald and Kris were clumped together in the Slifer dorm cafeteria since Jaden's room was _much_ too small. Luckily, they were able to borrow Professor Banner's TV-on-a-cart and DVD player.

"So, what should we watch first?" Jaden asked the group.

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail!" Kris shouted.

"I Am Legend!" Alicia called.

"The new Transformers!" Emerald yelled.

"Eragon!" Leslie cried.

"Hey, hey, _hey!_" Jaden bellowed. "One at a time! Shara first!" Shara started, jumping up a bit. Zane, sitting on her left, concealed his laughter with a cough.

"Um… Um… Eight Legged Freaks?" Shara suggested. Jaden smiled at her and popped the disk in and sitting on Shara's other side with a large bowl of popcorn. Kris dimmed and covered the lights in red film.

"Oh no, I'm scared already!" Emerald whined. Kris pulled out a small flashlight and attempted to look scary by shining it under her face.

"Mwahahaha…" Someone crept up behind her and grabbed the flashlight. Kris screamed and everyone laughed as Aster flashed the light on himself.

"Boo." Aster slowly sat down next to Emerald. "I hope you don't mind if I join you."

"Not at all!" Emerald answered. Jaden nodded in approval as the movie's main screen came up.

"Hold on!" Kris interrupted. "I've got no one to hold onto for the scary parts!" Jaden laughed.

"I personally don't think this movie is too scary, but if you want…" Jaden rushed back to his room and came back with a large, stuffed, gray and white dog.

"Ah, you know me well!" Kris squealed, taking the dog. Syrus hit play, and the movie finally started.

As the camera entered the spider-webby lab of the mad scientist, Leslie hugged Zane, who rubbed her head.

As the humongous spiders started attacking the people, Alicia and Syrus huddled together.

As the group of people ventured into the spider cave, Kris squeezed the stuffed dog.

As the main character rushed out of the spider cave on a motorcycle with a large fireball chasing him, Shara buried her face in Jaden's shoulder, despite the surprise he had in her doing so.

As the movie ended, Aster and Emerald quickly tore off the red film covering the lights and brightened them. Everyone stared at Leslie as she hid her face in Zane's shirt.

"She has arachnophobia," Zane explained. The rest nodded.

"What movie shall we watch next?" Jaden asked.

"How 'bout something lighter and more upbeat?" Shara suggested. "That last movie was creepy." She shivered.

"Like Monty Python and the Holy Grail!" Leslie exclaimed, happier now that the spider movie was over.

"Great idea," Aster agreed. Jaden nodded and popped the disk in the DVD player next. The movie started, and the group of people prepared to have a good time.

* * *

Light and Chazz were examining some wolf-like footprints near the Slifer dorm.

"What are we looking for again?" Light asked impatiently. Chazz studied claw marks on a nearby tree trunk.

"A monster."

"Well, _duh_!" Light replied. "But _what_ are we looking for?" Chazz glared at Light, his eyes gleaming in the beams of the half moon.

"From the evidence, it looks like a werewolf."

"Ah," Light said. After thinking on what Chazz had said, he asked, "But don't werewolves come out at full moons only?" The vampire looked at the dragon like he was stupid.

"Only the rarest come out at the full moon. The most common change with their emotions (1), and the semi-rare change with the night. This one looks semi-rare, probably a Day student," Chazz concluded.

"Wow, you can see all that from just those _marks?_" Light said, amazed.

"Well, either that, or it's the wolf demon. By the way, have you found him yet?"

"Well, I have my suspicions, and few of them are girls." Chazz nodded.

"C'mon, we have to find this werewolf before he – or she – hurts anyone. If it _is_ the semi-rare one, then its about a 20 percent chance someone will be infected, and if he infects another monster, that 20 percent becomes a chance for death."

* * *

(1) Kind of like the Stephanie Meyer version. I like her version of werewolves!

**Sorry to end it there, but the plot will come next chapter. For now, REVIEW PLEASE!! Always love reviews!**


	8. Movie Magic Part 1

**And… We're back! Thanks for waiting, you guys. But now, since I have to save up energy to make this chapter, my dear vampire Chazzy will say the disclaimer today.**

_Chazz: Why do I have to say it?_

_Vamp: Oh just do it!_

_Chazz: Fiiine. _**Vampiric Dragonrider does not own GX nor did she make any of the movies. She does own some of them though…**

_Random Group Of Warriors: GET ON WITH IT!!_

_Chazz: Sheesh… _**She only owns the monster sides of the GX characters. Most of the OCs you see are other people's, not hers, but hers will come—**

_Vamp: Shush! Don't spoil it! Ok, peeps, Alons-y! _

_NOTE!! In (probably) the longest part, the story will be in script-form, like a play._

* * *

Jaden turned to face the group. "OK, people, this movie contains some sexual reference and swears, so FYI…"

"We know Jaden," Zane sighed.

"Let's make some movie magic!" Shara squealed.

"Isn't that only for when you _make_ movies?" Aster pointed out. Shara glared at him.

"Oh shut up!" Shara retorted. Aster shrugged and started to push the play button.

"Hey, anyone in here?" someone said from the doorway. They turned to see a boy with blackish-gray hair slicked back, with gray eyes, wearing a grayish-yellow jacket.

"Who're you?" Jaden asked, rather rudely. The boy bowed.

"I'm Bastion. Bastion Misawa. May I join you?" he questioned.

"Sure, I don't see why not—?" Jaden started. Suddenly, the door flew back on its hinges, revealing Chazz and Light.

"Oh great… the geek…" Shara groaned in Light's direction.

"Stop whatever you're doing, Misawa!" Chazz ordered. Bastion growled.

"Why should I? Because you said so?"

"Exactly the reason!" Light butted in. Just then, Aster's finger slipped, and he hit the play button. The movie started, but instead of the picture filling up the TV screen, the lights flickered out.

"Ah! What's going on!?" Syrus screamed. Blackness enveloped them all, and everything lost touch, feel, and smell as they fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

_Jaden wakes up. He finds he is stuck with Chazz, Zane, and Alicia. He and Chazz are the only conscious ones, Chazz having woken up moments before Jaden._

Chazz – Well you took long enough to wake.

Jaden _retorting_ – It's not my fault! I'm only human after all.

Chazz – Yes, only… human.

_Zane and Alicia stir, then wake. Zane glances around for Leslie, but, seeing she is not there, he leans against a nearby tree instead. Alicia, in turn, looks for Syrus. _

Zane _warningly_ – Careful, Chazz. _Chazz glares at Zane._

Chazz – Aren't I always? _Chazz glances warily around. _We need to find the others.

_Shara, Kris, and Emerald find themselves in a heavily wooded area. Shara seems nervous about something._

Emerald – What's up, Shara?

Shara – what do you mean? I-I'm fine…

Kris – No you're not… _thoughtfully_ Are you worried about – Jaden, perhaps?

Shara _too fast_ – No! Well, I am, I'm worried about everyo—

Emerald _interrupting_ – But Jaden in particular? _Shara gives in and nods. Kris and Emerald look at each other._

Kris and Emerald _together_ – Shar-a and Jay-den, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N—

Shara – Stop it! _Kris sighs._

Kris – Listen, Shara, if you have ANY hope of getting together with Jaden, you can't come on as a friend. You need to appear as no one else.

Shara – What do you mean?

Emerald – Yeah… what _do_ you mean?

Kris _exasperated_ – If you meet up with Jaden as a _friend_, then most likely you'll _stay_ a _friend_. You need the spotlight on you, if you want him to be _more_ than a friend.

Shara – Ohhh….

Emerald _seemingly randomly_ – Hey, look, a person! Is he… banging a coconut, by any chance?

Kris – WHAT?

_Kris climbs up a tree to see farther. In the foggy distance, she sees two men, one with a pack on his back, carrying possessions and clothes, and the other wearing chain-mail, a crown, and a royal-looking sword. The pack-man is banging two coconuts together to make the sound of horse hooves as the men gallop on their own feet._

Kris – Oh my god, I think we're in the movie.

Emerald – Well, then, I guess out best ticket is to follow… _squints_ King Arthur and his servant.

* * *

_Light is lying on the ground, staring at the passing fog. Bastion is unconscious next to him. Leslie and Syrus are sitting under a nearby tree, wondering whether or not they should wake Bastion or run away from him._

Light – so what do you think?

Leslie – I think we leave him.

Syrus – we have to stay with him! We have to stick together so that we can get back to our own dimension!

Leslie – But Chazz… _motioning to Light_ and him… wanted him for something. _To Light _By the way, what _did_ you want with him?

Light – _hesitantly_ I'm not too sure myself, but Chazz wanted him for something. Right now, I'm just kinda hoping Zane is with him.

Syrus – Hey, I have an idea, why don't you turn into your dragon self, and then we can find the others?

Light – Oh yeah! _He starts to feel around for his amulet, but realizes it's missing._ It's not here!

Syrus – _looking at his wrist_ My item isn't here either! _They both glance at Leslie._

Leslie – What?

Light – Can't you teleport, or something?

Leslie – Apparate, yes. _Pause_. I've never done it with two people who can't do it though. And, I can't just apparate anywhere. I have to know where I'm going, and I don't.

Syrus – Well that sucks.

Leslie – Yeah, pretty much. _Pause again, longer this time._ Has anyone noticed we're talking in script form?

Light – uhh….

Syrus – No? _Bastion stirs. All three jump and stare at the boy._ He's waking up!

Bastion _groggily_ – heywuzzigoinon?

Leslie – whosie whatsie what?

Bastion _slower_ – Hey-what-is-go-ing-on.

Leslie – okay, okay, I'm not deaf, you know.

Syrus – We appear to be in different realm completely, and I'm kind of guessing we're in the movie.

Bastion – O-kayyyy. _Motioning to Light _Hey, isn't he a dragon?

Light _annoyed_ – Yes, but out items are missing.

Bastion _wide-eyed_ – Oh no! What time is it?

_Leslie squints through the fog, which appears to be clearing a bit. _

Leslie – seems like the sun is almost completely up.

Bastion _sighing_ – good.

Syrus _taking charge_ – alright! Let's head this way, I think I hear voices.

* * *

_After following King Arthur and his servant for a bit, he stops at a French castle, and Kris, Emerald, and Shara take this as their advantage to show themselves._

King Arthur – _To the French soldier _Tell me, who lives in this castle?

Kris – Um, excuse me, king? Yeah, we're lost.

King Arthur – I'm sorry, my lady, but I am journeying, and therefore I am technically lost also.

Emerald – No shit, Sherlock.

King Arthur – who's Sir Locke?

Kris – Never mind that. Since you don't know where you are, can we join you?

King Arthur – Of course! Tell me your names first.

Kris – I'm Kris.

Emerald – Emerald here!

Shara – My name's Shara.

King Arthur – Well, my ladies, we – _King Arthur is cut off by Syrus, Leslie, Light, and Bastion tripping out of a nearby bush._ Ah! Who're you!?

Syrus – I'm Syrus, this is Leslie, Light, and Bastion.

King Arthur – Nice to meet you, Sirs and Lady.

Leslie – Wow, you're King Arthur.

Light – Shut up, we know. We're lost, we're trapped in the wrong dimension, and we don't know where the rest of our group i—oh! There's a few. We're missing… _counts on fingers_ four people.

King Arthur – I guess then we will search for them instead!

* * *

_**Dear students and visitors,**_

_**This chapter will be divided into two parts in order to update (finally) and to give my head a rest for a few more days.**_

_**Vampiric Dragonrider**_


	9. Movie Magic Part 2

**Heeeyyyy 'suuuupppp??**

**Yeah, Vamp here. I'm almost overly-happy. So I'm trying to take this happiness and turn it into fuel for finishing Shara's section! Before I forget… JADEN! SAY THE DISCLAIMER!!**

_Jaden – why do I have to say it?_

_Vamp – If you won't say it, Shara will. Shara?_

_Shara – __**lost in daydream**_

_Vamp – okaaaayyy… not her. King Arthur?_

_King Arthur – I'd love to, my lady! _**Vampiric Dragonrider does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. She only owns the monster half of the GX characters, and an OC yet to come… I have been threatened with a rather large Bastard Sword not to say anymore… Any OCs you see now are other people's not hers, she does not take credit for them. I, King Arthur—**

_Vamp – That's enough, King Arthur! ON WITH THE STORY!_

* * *

_The knights and the students have been travelling for a while. Shara, Kris, Emerald, Bastion, Light, Leslie, and Syrus have experienced the movie first hand. They are climbing on a mountain to reach the Bridge of Death, the final destination, they hoped, in order to get home._

Sir Galahad – There it is!

King Arthur – The Bridge of Death!

Bedevere – Look! It's the old man form scene twenty-four – what's he doing here?

King Arthur – He's the Keeper of the Bridge. He asks us each five questions—

Galahad – three questions.

King Arthur – Three questions… He who answered the five questions—

Shara _wringing her hands nervously_ – three questions.

King Arthur – Three questions, may cross in safety.

Robin – and what if you get a question wrong?

Leslie _spookily_ – You get cast into the Gorge of Eternal Peril!

Robin – Hey, I have an idea! Why doesn't Sir Launcelot go?

Launcelot – Yes. Let me. I will take it single-handed… I will make a feint to the northeast—

Arthur – No, hang on! Just answer the five questions—

Syrus – Three questions.

Arthur – Three questions… and we will watch and pray…

Launcelot – I understand, My Leige.

Emerald – Good luck, break a leg! _Pause_ Not literally.

_Sir Launcelot approaches the bridgekeeper._

Bridgekeeper – Stop! Who approacheth the Bridge of Death  
Must answere me  
These questions three!  
Ere the other side see!

Launcelot – Ask me the questions, I'm not afraid!

Bridgkeeper – What is you name?

Launcelot – I am Launcelot.

Bridgekeeper – What is your quest?

Launcelot – I seek the Holy Grail.

Bridgekeeper – What is your favorite color?

Launcelot – Blue.

Bridgekeeper – All right, off you go!

… _skip forward a bit…_

Bridgekeeper – What is the capital of Assyria?

Robin – I don't know that… AAAARRRGGG!! _Robin is tossed into the gorge by some unseen force._

* * *

Bridgekeeper _to Gawain_ – What is your favorite color?

Gawain – Blue… no, yelloooooowwwww! _He is cast into the gorge._

_The rest of the group step up. Shara bravely steps forward, even though she knows what is going to happen._

Arthur – My lady, perhaps I should go…

Shara – That's okay, I'll do it. Ask me the questions, Bridgekeeper!

Bridgekeeper – Lovely lady, now, eh? What is your name?

Shara – Shara Neko!

Bridgekeeper – What is your quest?

Shara – to get back home and find my other friends!

Bridgekeeper – What… Is the speed, angle, and velocity of a shot fire-arrow from a 20 foot high turret?

Shara _Shocked at first, but stops to think of a way to trick the Bridgekeeper._ Is it shot from a crossbow or a longbow?

Bridgekeeper – I-I don't know!... AAAAaaahhhh…! _He is cast into the gorge._

Kris – Nice job, Shara!

Shara _blushing – _Thank you! _The group crosses the Bridge of Death. At the other side, they find they lost Sit Launcelot. They continue onward, in hopes of finding the others. However, all they can see is flat, green grassland. Suddenly, a black blur zooms out of nowhere and grabs Bastion, twisting his arms behind him. It is Chazz. Shara glances around, knowing that the rest of the lost people must be near._

Chazz _in Bastion's ear –_ Don't move, wolf.

_Jaden, Zane, and Alicia appear soon after Chazz did. Leslie and Syrus run to their loved ones and embrace warmly. Jaden grins at Shara. Shara blushes._

Jaden – Hi, Shara…

Shara _shyly_ –Hi…

Jaden – So… are you okay?

Shara – Yeah, how 'bout you?

Jaden – To tell the truth… I'd… uh… rather be… with you…

Shara _blushing ferociously _– I-uh, th-thanks, Jaden… Me too…

Jaden – So… how do we get back to Duel Academy?

Chazz – I know what to do. Leslie and Zane, hold hands. Everyone form a circle, grasping either Zane or Leslie's hand or someone holding onto them. Form a clear picture of the dorm, and then step and turn on your heel.

Shara – Why didn't we do that before?

Chazz – It's difficult to travel between dimensions, so if everyone works together, it should work.

Jaden – Whatever... Shara, let's go!

_The group of students stood in a wide circle. Shara and Jaden clutched hands for dear life, and Chazz grasped Bastion with an unbreakable grip. Leslie and Zane held hands, and on the count of 3, the whole circle stepped and turned on their heels. They were jerked up, and disappeared with a pop._

King Arthur – You don't see _that_ everyday!

* * *

A loud pop resonated in the lunchroom of the Slifer dorm. The missing students appeared and stumbled away from the now broken circle's centre. Chazz still had Bastion in his clutches, and Shara and Jaden were holding onto each other. Aster was sitting in a chair, but he jumped up when the students reappeared.

"Uh, Shara, you can let go now," Jaden said sheepishly. Shara shook her head.

"No way, you smell too good." Shara blushed after she realized what she said. Jaden rolled his eyes playfully.

"Ugh, if you say so," he replied jokingly. Shara laughed with him.

"So… what now?" she asked him.

"I guess I invite you to the Halloween dance that's two weeks away!"

"Oh great…" Shara sighed. She pulled away a bit, and stared into Jaden's chocolate eyes. Suddenly, they started laughing. Chazz and Bastion had left, but the rest of the students looked on.

"Finally!" Kris cried. She, too, started laughing. Someone brought out Twister, and the Movie Madness was over.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed it! Especially you, Mekishika…So I got a lot of the lines of the Holy Grail from the Screenplay. I didn't make up most of the lines, and I don't take credit for them. If you know where I did make up the lines, congrats and give yourself a free cookie! Tata until next time!_


	10. Transmutations and Decorations

****

Hello, my friends and loyal readers! I'm back, (oh my god, look how short the time intervals have gotten!) and now Emerald Kimana is getting her share of romance, comedy, and action… hopefully. I have no idea how this is going to turn out, so DON'T ASK QUESTIONS!! Anyway… I don't own GX or anything I may or may not mention in this story. If I owned GX, do you really think I'd be here? Actually, yeah I would… But I'd also be firing a few 4kids people and making the show EVEN BETTER.

* * *

Shara stood on top of a ladder, hanging orange and black streamers from the tennis court's walls. The ceilings required lifts to get to, and those haven't arrived yet. Jaden and Kris, previously having set up a few long snack tables, started bringing in round tables for guests to rest at. Leslie and Zane were practicing levitating techniques while bringing fold up chairs in. Emerald, Syrus, Alicia, and Aster were desperately trying to design Japanese-style lanterns in orange paper, but it wasn't going the best of ways. Syrus just glued his middle finger and thumb together. Alicia's lantern looked kind of… well, let's just say it looked nothing like a lantern. Emerald had lost interest in this project, and was now decorating a toothpick-Duel Academy with the leftover tissue paper. Only Aster's paper resembled anything like a lantern.

"That's pretty good, Emi," Aster complimented her on her miniature Duel Academy. Emerald blushed.

"Thanks. Your lantern is really good." Aster smiled at her, making her face redden even more. Chazz randomly snuck up behind her and whispered in her ear:

"Do you like tomatoes?" Emerald shouted and fell backwards off of her chair (they were working at a table). Chazz chuckled slightly as the people around him burst out laughing.

"Chazz!" Emerald shouted, embarrassed.

"What? You guys need to lighten up a bit more. The dance isn't for another…" Chazz checked an imaginary watch. "Five days. And it's a _dance_, not a wedding!"

"Yeah, well…" Emerald sputtered.

"I rest my case," Chazz said, and strode over to Leslie and Zane to tell them off for practicing outside of secluded areas. Emerald glanced over when he got there, and Zane was laughing his head off while Leslie just stared into space and ignored Chazz. At first, Chazz was frustrated, and then his shoulders shook in sniggers. Aster followed Emerald's gaze and smiled at the scene.

"That Chazz, he sure is funny, isn't he?"

"Only when he wants to," Kris cut in, setting a table down near them. Jaden wiggled under the table to lock the legs.

"And even when he's not trying to be!" Jaden added. After locking the legs, he leaned his head back to look at Shara, who was stepping down the ladder. Suddenly, the ladder wobbled, and Shara lost her balance. It was only a few feet from the ground and, being a Neko, she would have probably been okay. The only problem was, was that a guy ran in a caught her. He had reddish-brown hair with a buzzcut and a hook-like ponytail. His was well built, with patched, dark jeans, an Obelisk outfit slightly too small for him, and narrow black eyes. When he caught Shara, she ended up bridal style.

"Um thanks—"

"Jerome Dalton," the guy interrupted.

"Thank you for catching me, Jerome, but I'd rather you put my down. I DO have a boyfriend, and also, I would not have been hurt if you did not catch me. Please put me down NOW," Shara ordered. Grudgingly, Jerome set the girl down. Shara brushed herself off and strode away to work on hanging more streamers. She could feel Jerome's eyes on her the whole time. Jerome also sensed someone come up behind him. He whirled around and found Chazz glaring at him.

"Dalton, go back to your dorm. You're not supposed to be here."

"What, I can't help decorate?" Jerome snorted rudely.

"You can't if you're not on the committee, and you certainly didn't ask before we started."

"Well jeez, if I knew _she_ was going to be there, I'd've asked!"

"But you didn't. _Leave_."

* * *

**LATER**

Jaden finally found Shara sulking in a corner. The decorations were done for the day, and the students needed time to complete homework.

"Why are you sulking?"

"'Cause that stupid Dalton person tried to flirt with me with you in the same room!"

"I didn't see him flirt…"

"He did it discreetly. When he caught me, I knew he liked me. Good thing I'm taken," Shara giggled, looking up at Jaden's warm brown eyes. She stretched her arms out toward him, and he hugged her.

"C'mon, we need to get to class. I think we have swimming in P.E."

* * *

Emerald sat dully in Alchemy class. Professor Banner was absent, so Aster had to help them understand a lab they were doing. Once they were finished, they had to work on their transmuting projects. This lab was about trying to create a spark from a circle, kind of like Colonel Mustang, Aster said. This lab also meant that Aster couldn't "help" Emerald. He would be too busy doing what Professor Banner should have been doing.

Emerald sighed at her misfortune. She knew she liked Aster… a lot. But nothing could be done. She settled on concentrating on her lab. When she was ready to create a spark that they're trying to light a match with, the whole match shrivelled into ashes in one loud POP from the fire.

"Emi, can you meet me outside, please?" Aster asked gently. He strode out of the room, Emerald following anxiously.

Once outside, Aster turned to her. "Emi, I would have called you out here anyway. Emi, I—I have something I have to show you."

"What is it?" Emerald queried worriedly. Aster's gaze shifted around the hallway to make sure no one there. He turned his left wrist over and dug his fingers into just below where the palm met the wrist. Emerald winced, but did not look away. Aster needed to show her this. Slowly, Aster pulled his hand back, peeling his "skin" back. Underneath was a robotic arm.

"Oh my god," Emerald whispered, clamping a hand over her mouth. "You're a robot?" Aster looked at her sadly.

"I wasn't always. I—I was—I was created, Emi. When I was about ten or eleven, my father told me to stand inside a circle and he… he… he transmuted me. He wanted to make the 'perfect robot,' who could dream and live like a human, but then have robotic powers also. He almost succeeded. I have a weak spot right here, on my left wrist, and I'm far short from having any special robotic powers like guns, except for a little bit of extra strength and infrared vision."

"Why did you tell me this?"

"Emerald…" Aster started to stutter. "I… I believe you can help me. I… I want to be… human again. I believe it can be done. That's why I came with Professor Banner. Please… Please! Will you help me?" He begged. His blue eyes looked pleadingly at her, eyes filled with long-time sorrow and hope at the same time.

Emerald stared back at those eyes. The rest of the world faded. She could see Aster was actually… _suffering_ in this form. "Yes, I'll help, but how?"

Aster pulled out his PDA and touched something on the screen. A file opened, and he showed it to Emerald. "This is the answer. I did some studying on the transmuting circle my dad used on me and, with Professor Banner's help, developed _this_ circle. It's basically the original one's reverse. Emi, I—I think this could work."

Emerald's gaze turn fierce and determined. "We will make you human again."

* * *

**Oh my god, what a cliffie I put! Tee hee hee. Mwahaha. Tell me how I'm doing so far! Or… just leave a review. Always love reviews. Next Chapter… Will Emerald and Aster succeed in making him human again?**


	11. The Transmutation

**Baack! I swear I'm getting more efficient! (Watch me blow this off for about two weeks XD) I think I was just slow on the movie one. Script form is haaard! Anyway, let's get back to the story!**

* * *

Aster led Emerald to a large, flat, rocky outcrop underneath a cliff. It was circular and dry. In the centre, Aster drew a small circle in black chalk. He drew a different symbol on the back of his hands and clapped them together. The small transmuting circle in the centre grew and turned white, filling the outcrop. Aster turned to Emerald.

"We need to duel so that we can get enough energy to work. Also, your elfin powers can help."

"But how will we store this energy?" Aster pointed to a silver rod with two bulbous, yellow spheres on the end.

"Are you ready to duel, Emi?"

"I always am." The two students activated their discs. The circle glowed a faint pink.

"When we get enough energy, the circle will be blood red," Aster explained. "You go first." Emerald nodded and drew a sixth card.

"I set two cards face down. I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior! (1600/1000) He gets one spell counter, raising his attack points to 1900! I end my turn," Emerald announced. Aster smiled at her from across the field.

"My turn." He drew a card. "I activate Cost Down. By discarding a card from my hand, all monsters in my hand are now two levels lower. Now I summon my Cyber-Tech Alligator (2500/1600) in attack mode. Cyber-Tech Alligator, attack her Breaker the Magical Warrior!" Using his giant clawed hand, Cyber-Tech Alligator slashed Breaker to pixels. Emerald's life points dropped to 3400.

"Activate trap, Attack and Receive! When I receive damage, you get 500 points of direct damage!" Aster's LP went to 3500. Emerald glanced at the pole, and noticed that it was glowing slightly. The circle was glowing a bit stronger now.

"I place one card face down and end my turn."

"My turn!" Emerald shouted. "I discard one card from my hand to special summon The Tricky! (2000/1200) Next, I activate Pot of Greed! I draw two cards… Yes! I activate, from my hand, Black Magic Ritual! By discarding my Cat of Ill Omen from my hand, I can ritual summon Relinquished!" Emerald had one card left in her hand. "I use Relinquished's special effect to latch onto your Cyber-Tech Alligator!" Cyber-Tech Alligator became an equip card to Relinquished. Its attack and defence became 2500 and 1600. "I use The Tricky to attack you directly!"

"I activate the trap card Negate Attack! My life points are safe for now," Aster interrupted. The Tricky's blow was blocked.

"Urg," Emerald groaned. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

"I use Polymerization to fuse Barrel Dragon and Blowback Dragon to form… Gatling Dragon! (2600/1200) Next, I summon Drillago (1600/1100) and equip 7 Completed to raise its attack points by 700! (2300) Since all of your monsters have more than 1600 attack points, I can attack you directly, with Drillago. Go!" Drillago jumped through the ground to Emerald and sliced her LP to 1100. "Gatling Dragon, destroy her Relinquinshed!" As Gatling Dragon attacked, Emerald interrupted.

"Activate trap, Magical Cylinder! This basically sends your attack right back at ya." Two cylinders appeared on the field, one of them swallowing up Gatling Dragon's attack and the other sending it back towards Aster. Aster's LP fell to 900.

"I end my turn."

"And I start mine!" Emerald shouted. She drew a card. "I activate Magical Dimension! I tribute The Tricky to special summon… THE DARK MAGICIAN!" The all-famous , purple-clad magician rose out of the ground majestically. "Now, due to the effect of Magical Dimension, I can destroy your Gatling Dragon. Next, I activate Mage Power and equip it to Dark Magician. He gets 500 attack points for every spell or trap card on my field, and I count one. (3000 ATK) I'll destroy your Drillago with Relinquished, and then attack you directly with Dark Magician!" Aster's life points dropped to 0. The holograms vanished. However, the circle was still only magenta.

"We don't have enough power," Aster said sadly. He bent down and prepared to clean up the transmutation circle.

"Wait!" Emerald shouted. Aster paused. "I have an idea." Emerald rushed over to the energy pole and placed a hand on each yellow sphere. Her hands began to glow, and the circle's red color slowly deepened.

* * *

**BACK AT THE TENNIS COURTS**

"Light, why weren't you here yesterday?" Alicia demanded.

"I, um, well, I was out… sleeping."

"SLEEPING?"

"Well… I was out flying, and I got tired, so I found a tree and sort of… drifted off." Alicia harrumphed.

"Whatever. Just help with the decorating!"

"Yes _mom_," Light replied bitterly. Chazz, nearby, suddenly shuddered. "What is it?" Light asked him.

"I'm not sure, but for some strange reason, I feel like someone's in trouble."

"Hey," Kris started, joining them. "Where's Emi and Aster?" Chazz and Light exchanged looks. "What?"

"Come with me," Chazz ordered, and ran out of the room. Alicia, Light, and Kris followed as quickly as possible.

* * *

**AT THE OUTCROP**

Within a few minutes, the transmutation circle had turned a bloody red. The energy pole withdrew into the ground, and the circle began to glow. Emerald felt drained, but she had expected it. The circle shone like a beacon, and the glow started to seep into Aster. Soon, he was shining too. A wind picked up, and inside the circle, it spun like a cyclone. Emerald was tempted to step back into the circle, but, if she remembered correctly, if she stepped into it, the whole thing would be ruined, and she or Aster might even be killed.

Aster's body shifted, like two separate forms started to move apart, but it lasted only a second, and he was whole once more. He shouted in pain and crouched on the ground, one hand on his face. A large purple door rose out of the centre, near Aster, and opened slightly, spewing dark tendrils of shadow. Emerald could see eyes inside. A tendril shaped like a hand reached out and plunged into Aster's chest.

"No!" Emerald screamed. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. There was no way that she wasn't going to watch over Aster. The hand started to withdraw, bringing a glowing blob shaped like an orb with it.

"What are you doing, girl?!" a voice shouted down at her from the cliff. "Stop it! It's taking his soul!" Emerald didn't even bother to find out who it was. She lurched towards the center. The door started to close, but the shadowy tendril wasn't inside yet. She moved her legs as fast as possible, adrenaline fuelling her. With one final leap, she reached the hand and clutched onto the orb-like thing. Luckily, it didn't slip from her fingers.

As she wrestled with the hand-shaped shadow, more came to help it. However, those were blasted to shreds by a red laser. Aster was fully robotic, and had just shot a beam from his palm. Suddenly, Emerald felt her energy being drawn away. The circle glowed brighter, and two hands clutched her ankles. But that wasn't it. With a flash of light, the hand was blasted back into the shadows. Emerald's elf magic was showing itself.

Clutching Aster's soul, Emerald retreated back towards the now 100 percent robot. She reached him and looked into his eyes. His blue eyes were dead, just a part of a robot now. With a roar of frustration, she forced the soul back into Aster's chest, where she sensed it lock in with the heart, where the soul likes to rest. Aster's body shifted again, only it lasted longer and the two separate forms got farther away. All that Emerald could see of Aster when this happened were blobs of energy.

Without warning, a shadow tendril reached out and tore Emerald's monster item, an emerald green crescent moon medallion style necklace with an opal set into it, off of her neck. Plants of all kind stretched towards the sky around the circle as the tendril brought Emerald's item back into the door. She ran for it, but the door closed before she got there.

When Emerald turned back towards Aster, he looked normal. There was a robot skeleton lying next to his unconscious body. As the door receded back into the ground and the circle stopped glowing, Emerald's heart thumped against her ribcage. She rushed over to Aster and felt his pulse. It was light and quick, and his forehead was feverish. Subconsciously, Emerald tore a lock of hair off of her braid, and made Aster hold it in his left hand. She placed her hands on his chest, and her hands started to flow a soft pink. But it wasn't enough.

Emerald sensed people approach her, but she did not turn around. She willed all of her strength into her hands, but she still felt helpless. Two cold hands clutched her shoulders, but they did not pull her away. Instead, a rush of power flooded her veins.

"You need more power, girl," said the owner of the hands. She knew it was Chazz. "You need to love him." Emerald was slightly confused. Chazz sighed. "Kiss him."

Still a little confused, Emerald leaned towards Aster's face. She hesitated. He was so beautiful. Finally, her lips touched his. Aster's eyes fluttered. Emerald pulled away and concentrated all of her might into her hands. She felt Aster's heart become more powerful, and his eyes opened.

"Emi," he muttered weakly. He smiled. He was always able to smile. At last, Emerald took her hands off of his chest and hugged Aster.

"You're okay, you're okay," she murmured happily. Aster wrapped his arms around her also.

"Thanks to you." The sound of machinery moving broke the tranquillity. They turned around to find the robot skeleton shifting, then standing. Its red eyes glared at them, and it aimed a laser at Aster's head. A loud scream of surprise shattered the air as a wolf darted into the scene and crunched its teeth into the arm, tearing it off.

The wolf and the robot squared off, the wolf growling viciously. The wolf had black fur with white tail- and ear-tips. Its eyes were bi-colored, one dark blue, one dark green. The robot shot a small rocket at the wolf, who dodged it easily. Using the momentum from the dodge, the wolf leaped at the robot's neck. Its teeth tore into the metal with little difficulty, and the robot crumpled, sparking a bit.

A gold bandlet appeared on one of the wolf's fore feet with an unearthly glow. As soon as it stopped glowing and turned solid, the wolf transformed into a girl. It was Kris.

However, when she turned back to Emerald and Aster, she found that the elf had fainted from exhaustion. Aster looked like he could go any minute also. Light and Alicia hurried toward the very tired and ragged group.

"Light," Chazz ordered, "Help carry Emerald and Aster to the infirmary."

"Yes sir," Light replied. He transformed into his dragon self and, with Alicia's help, transported Aster and Emerald back to the main building. Chazz and Kris were left alone.

"What are we going to do about her item?" Kris asked softly.

"I don't know. Now that the other world has got it, I'm just not sure. All I am certain of," Chazz stated, "is that this school is going to be a bit chaotic for a while until we can either teach her to control her powers or get her a new item as quickly as possible." And with that, the two creatures headed back towards their dorms.

* * *

**I hope you had as much fun reading this chapter as I did writing it! And now you know that Kris is a wolf demon. How will others take to this, when they find out?**


	12. Zane's Transformation

**I'm back. GASP! I'M BACK. OMG!!**

**Before I get off track… Let's follow Light and Alicia back to the infirmary, where Emerald and Aster are resting and healing. Light's chapters will start after this one OR the next one. This will help with the story line, so it's basically a free-be. (OMG, there's a story line? YES, THERE'S A STORY LINE!)**

* * *

Kris and Chazz entered the room where Emerald and Aster were being held. As soon as Alicia and Light saw Kris, they left. Kris looked at Chazz with a confused expression.

"What I have to ask," Chazz started, "Kris, is why you never told your friends you were a wolf demon."

"Not now…" Kris moaned. Chazz smirked a bit.

"Okay, not now, but next time I won't be the one to ask."

They made their way over to the beds, Kris to Emerald and Chazz to Aster. Kris looked over Emerald sadly. She had an oxygen mask on her face, and an X-ray had shown a lot of bone loss. She had lost some of her bone mass because of the healing she did to Aster. Aster had even more bone loss, however, because his bones had been metal. Fortunately, a bunch of students were contributing, so they should be fine.

As Kris glanced out the window, she saw a dragon lift up and fly to the sky. It was Light. She sighed, and turned back to Emerald. How was she going to tell the others she was a wolf demon? Jaden already knew, but no one else did, until last night…

* * *

Light flapped his wings hard, feeling the cool, dawn wind skim along his scales. He flew towards the volcano in search of a tree heated slightly by the magma.

He soon found the perfect tree, and reverted back to human form. He crawled up into a high branch, where he could see the sun rise. He went there to think. Wow, he actually _wanted_ to think! Uh oh, he's giving the authoress an evil eye… Um…

Why would Kris keep a secret like that? He knew he wasn't the greatest of friends to her, but he could keep a secret… right?

Light heard something hit the ground. Mildly curious… ok, he was catty curious… he leaped down from the branch he was lounging on and landed near where he though he heard the object land. He searched the ground, which was littered with leaves and needles from pines. Soon, he came across an anklet. It was a simple, purple-colored chain, with a gold, thin bird with a ruby eye dangling off of it. Light knew from picking it up that it was an Item. But what was it doing here? More importantly, _how_ did it get here?

Light could only think of one thing to do, and that was to go to the creature that seemed to have all the answers. Yes, the vampire, the leader of this school. He had to, it was his only choice. What was he going to do with an Item anyway?

Instead of flying, Light ran all the way to the school. After that, he realized that Chazz had probably gone to his room, so then he had to run to the Obelisk dorm which, luckily, was pretty close to the school building.

By the time he reached the vampire's door, he had hardly enough strength to knock. He didn't have to, though, Chazz scented him from about 10 feet away. Chazz opened the door and looked at Light strangely. Why was he bothering him at this hour, when he should be getting to sleep?

"What is it, Light?" Chazz grumbled, annoyed but alert. Light, still too much out of breath to talk, held up the anklet. "Oh," Chazz gasped slightly, taking the Item gently. He spilled the chain from hand to hand then examined the bird. Suddenly, the ruby started to glow violently as Chazz fingered the bird. It reacted to his hand, and Chazz was forced to drop it to avoid serious injury. When Light managed to catch it, it was smoking slightly.

"What just happened?" Light asked, watching Chazz rub his hand in pain.

"I'm not sure." Chazz studied the hand which the bird reacted to. On the centre of his palm was a blotchy spot of reddish-pink. He winced as it immediately healed over. He looked at Light. "How did this Item come into your possession again?"

"I found it," Light replied. Chazz stared at him incredulously. "Okay, I think it fell. I'm not exactly sure how, but I heard something fall to the forest floor, and I went to look to see what it was, and I found… this," he explained, holding the Item up.

"Well…" Chazz started. However, at that time, Zane exited his room. Chazz looked at him and motioned him to come over. Zane came unwillingly.

"What is it, Chazz?" Zane asked politely.

"That Item, the one Light is holding, burned me, or something," Chazz said. Zane started to take the anklet. Seconds before touching it, Light shouted:

"No!" Light pulled the anklet out of Zane's reach. Both class leaders frowned.

"Light…" Chazz growled warningly. "Give him the Item." Light stared at Chazz.

"This anklet is bad, I feel it in my gut," Light protested. Unfortunately, Light soon found his hands and legs bound by Zane's spell. He was helpless as the wizard took the Item.

It happened suddenly. The anklet seemed to explode in dark light, engulfing Zane. The light seemed to enter through his chest, and Zane fell to one knee, clutching his heart.

"Zane!" Light and Chazz shouted at the same time. They watched hopelessly as Zane stood slowly up and grinned at them evilly. The anklet hung in his tight grip.

"Chazz!" Zane laughed. "How does it feel to be the weak one now?"

"Wha—" Chazz started, but was cut off when Zane raised a hand and he was blasted down the hall. Light pounced on Zane angrily, but was easily thrown off. As Light looked, Zane disappeared in a flash of black light, laughing at the pain of others. The Item fell to the floor with the sound of clinking chains.

Light strolled over to Chazz. "What just happened?" Chazz put a hand to his face.

"I just don't know anymore, Light, I just don't know…"

* * *

Alicia walked slowly down the hall, brooding about the secret Kris had kept from them all. She didn't know why she was so upset. She was sure Kris had a good reason as to why she kept her monster-half a secret.

Alicia ended up at gym. She had switched classes, causing her to be in Jaden and Alexis's class. That day, they were swimming, but Alexis refused to get into the water. Jaden was even trying to push the girl in.

"C'mon, Alexis!" Jaden moaned.

"No!" she wailed. "I'm not getting into the water!"

"Do you have hydrophobia, or something?" Alicia asked coldly. Alexis crossed her arms.

"Of course not!" she harrumphed.

"Then you won't mind this," Alicia said. All at once, she shoved with all her might. Alexis stumbled into the pool. A glowing gold light appeared as Alexis morphed into a mermaid. She surfaced and glared at Alicia.

"Thanks a lot," she growled as guys began to crowd around her. She spat at them as Ms. Fontaine, Mindy, and Jasmine tried to shoo them away. Ms. Fontaine gave her a towel, and Alexis rubbed her… uh, tail… dry, turning them back to legs.

"Well how were we supposed to know you were a fish?" Alicia snorted. Jaden glared at the neko.

"What's gotten into you today, Alicia?" Jaden inquired. Alicia didn't answer. Instead, she stormed out of the pool area.

"Alicia! Come back here!" Ms. Fontaine called after her, but Alicia didn't make a move to obey.

Outside, she ran into Leslie, who was crying, and Light, who was trying and failing to comfort her. They were sitting on one of those statue thingies.

"What's wrong?" Alicia asked. Leslie's shoulders shook in hiccups as she looked at Alicia with bloodshot eyes.

"Zane **hic**," Leslie managed to mutter. "He—He…" She couldn't continue and broke down again.

"Zane has disappeared," Light explained quietly. "I found an anklet this morning that seemed to be an Item, but when Chazz touched it, it seemed to burn him. Zane came over to study it, and when _he_ touched it, darkness engulfed him, and he was able to send Chazz flying. After that, he… vanished," Light said. On the word "vanished," Light waved his hand randomly.

"Oh…" Alicia said softly. She sat on Leslie's other side and put her arm around the witch. "Leslie, I'm so sorry, we'll find him!"

"I wish I could believe you," Leslie moaned. She stood up and Disapparated. Light supposed she retired to her room to cry in peace. Alicia tossed a piece of bread up in the air and caught again.

"I'm going to see Steve," she announced. Steve was what they decided to name the creature from a few chapters ago. "Wanna come?"

"Sure, I got nothing better to do," Light shrugged. So Alicia and Light started their trek up to the cave where Steve was.

* * *

Chazz sat at his desk. The only light was the light from the gibbous moon and the pale desk lamp curving gracefully over his book. It was a thick book, with a dusty red ribbon strewn carelessly above the book that was attached to it. The binding was black, and Chazz could hardly keep his eyes open.

A magnifying glass laid to the right of the thick book. It was on top of a legal pad with long, sprawling handwriting written in liquid black ink that still shone a little bit. Under a microscope to the left of the book was the Item. Chazz was studying the bird trinket under the lens. Every once in a while, he'd turn and look through it, look back and the book, and either shake his head, or write something down as if his thoughts were faster than his words.

The vampire looked longingly at his bed, which was almost begging him to come and lie in it. Finally, Chazz stood up, and walked over to the mirror that hung above his dresser. He pulled the corner of his mouth up to expose his teeth. He watched sadly as his fangs slowly began to stretch. He was thirsty; he couldn't deny it much longer. And when a vampire is thirsty, some of his power leaves him.

Apparently Zane knew this. Chazz sensed rather than heard the shadowy tendrils curve upwards from his floor as Zane rose out of the ground. Chazz whirled around to face the wizard. However, before the vampire could react, Zane had thrust his hand in front of him. Chazz felt an invisible force at his throat as he was thrown against the mirror. He felt it crack underneath him as his dresser shook. His legs roared in pain.

"Zane! What're you _doing_?" Chazz hissed. He didn't _have_ to breathe, but he needed to in order to talk. Zane smirked.

"I came for my Item," he replied.

"N-no!" Chazz sputtered. He slowly took in a breath through the little space he had. "It's not yours! You can't take it!" Zane just glared and stalked over to Chazz's desk. Black, cord-like bindings wrapped themselves around Chazz and sealed him to the dresser. Zane calmly looked over Chazz's notes.

"You've been busy, I see," Zane mused. He read aloud a few of the notes. "This Item was originally made in 1837. It was infused with a dark power. HA!" he laughed. "Even _Jaden_ could have figured that out!" Zane turned back towards Chazz and laughed again. The vampire's bindings were basically crushing him.

Chazz took this opportunity to spit at Zane's feet. "I should have never shown you that Item." Zane just cackled and snapped his fingers. A piece of cloth appeared out of nowhere and gagged Chazz.

"This is more than I could have asked from you. For months, I have lived underneath you. Before you came, I was the ruler of this school. I am again, and now _you_ are my underling!" Chazz tore viciously at his gag. "Alas, I have found that you are not as powerful as you could be. You are merely a normal vampire, with no extra powers and hardly worth creating. I could… I could destroy you right now if I wanted to!" Zane ran his finger along Chazz's jaw-line, drawing blood with nails that had grown and he had filed sharp. Chazz didn't flinch.

Zane continued, "Why don't I just kill you right now. No one would care, and you wouldn't be missed." Chazz winced at this. Zane smirked once more. "That's what you have always been afraid of. Being hated or, even worse, being ignored." Zane cupped a hand, spreading his fingers apart making it look sort of like a claw. An orb of dark energy formed in it. "All I have to do is…" Zane suddenly plunged the energy into the center of Chazz's chest. Wind whipped around them as Chazz screamed as best he could with a gag. The bindings dissipated, and the gag disappeared into smoke. Chazz's eyes rolled up into his head, and he collapsed. It stopped, and Zane took a step back. Chazz lay against the dresser, his hands hanging limp and he was smoking slightly from the energy. There was a thick blood trail leading from the top of the dresser to where Chazz is now.

The door opened quietly. Zane turned to find the person he expected to see the least. Leslie.

* * *

Light shuddered.

"What is it?" Steve asked as they sat around a feeble fire.

"I just had that strange feeling that someone I know well is seriously hurt." Alicia stood up.

"Let's go, I think I know who you're thinking of."

* * *

**Whoooaaaa... Maybe I should change this story to M...**


	13. The Brothers Vampire

**I'd like to take this moment to thank all of you for reading my fanfics. I recently got World of Warcraft, also known as WoW, and I might be spending some (a lot) time on it. I'll try to get one chapter up of at least one of my stories each week (maybe two a week, unless I'm on vacation) to keep you busy. Hey, it's an addicting game, and I'm going to use my free month very well.**

**Now… on to the story!**

* * *

Leslie glanced from the vampire's corpse to the wizard she loved multiple times over. Her eyes were wide in horror at Zane's deed. Finally, Zane said angrily, "Stop that head turning, you're making me dizzy!"

Leslie stepped calmly into the room, and walked over to Zane, her face stoic. Suddenly, she grasped his wrist, spun, and threw him over her shoulder onto the ground. Zane landed on his back with a thump.

"What the hell was that for!" he scowled.

"For going there and leaving me and getting yourself possessed by some stupid Item," Leslie growled. Her eyebrows were drawn together in anger, but tears were streaming out of her cobalt eyes and her voice was choked and strained. Zane slowly got to his feet and gathered Leslie into his arms.

"Sorry, dear," he whispered into her ear. Leslie thought he was apologizing for what he did, not for what he was going to do. Zane pinched the back of her neck, and she fell limp.

* * *

_Meanwhile, somewhere in a very tall building in New York…_

"I'm so glad you could consider buying our company," Mr. Altair, a short, white-headed and –bearded man said joyfully as he shook Jagger's and Slade's hands. The brother's expressions were that of forced politeness.

"It's no problem, seeing as we're looking to expand," Jagger started.

"And you were pretty much bankrupt," Slade ended. Slade watched out of the corner of his eye as Jagger twitched.

_What's up?_ Slade asked his younger brother silently. Jagger was a psychic vampire, while Slade was a normal one, but had mind powers (1), bringing him close in power to the psy-vamps.

_Chazz is in danger. He's calling for us._

_Why should we help __**him**__?_

_Why shouldn't we? He's our brother. Besides, he called out sub-consciously, which means he's either knocked-out or someone attempted to kill him, and near succeeded._

_But don't usually vampires stick to themselves?_

_**We're**__ together._ Slade couldn't think up a response for that, so he turned his attention to Mr. Altair, head of the Fantastical Inc. in New York.

Pretty soon, Mr. Altair said, "I know you could probably decide right now, but why don't you two talk it over with dinner? I'll be here whenever you're ready."

"Thank you, Mr. Altair," Jagger replied politely. "We'll be back soon…"

"Hopefully," Slade added. The brothers left the room and headed towards the restroom. It was empty. Jagger held out his hand and Slade clasped it. Jagger concentrated, and the two vampires changed into groupings of energy, and disappeared.

* * *

Alicia's and Light's feet pounded the hard staircases, the soles starting to hurt. With an exasperated roar, Alicia tore off her Item and darted ahead of Light. She soon came across Chazz's open door. Zane and Leslie were long gone, of course, but she came across the form of Chazz.

Light found her finally again, and she was back in her human form. A look of utter shock was on her face, and Light soon figured out why. They raced over to his figure, and couldn't figure out what to do next.

That was soon answered by two shapeless forms of energy entered the room and rearranged themselves as two men in suits who looked a lot like Chazz. The older one, with a beard, had an amulet that looked a lot like Chazz's: a crescent moon opening to the left, only this time, it's black. Jagger's was different. It was a dark green crescent moon opening upwards, with a four cornered silver jewel in the opening.

"Who're you?" Light asked, if not rudely. The older one wrinkled his nose in disgust, but the younger one kept his cool.

"I'm Jagger, and this is Slade. We're Chazz's brothers." Alicia gasped.

"He talked about you once!" Just then, Slade and Jagger noticed Chazz's body lying against the dresser.

"So… now we know our problem…" Slade said dryly. Jagger glared at him.

"Who did this?" Jagger demanded. Alicia and Light looked at each other. Slade looked into their minds.

_I'm not entirely sure, but since Zane… Maybe he did this,_ Alicia thought.

_Zane did this, I know it. It's that Item!_ Light thought. Slade glanced sideways at his brother and reported silently.

"Zane did it," Light and Alicia said at the same time. Jagger nodded.

"Was he evil before?" he asked. The students looked strangely at him, but Jagger just shrugged innocently.

"No," Alicia said cautiously. "He picked up an Item, and, according to Light here, turned inexplicably evil… and with it, more powerful."

"We don't know what caused it," Light added quickly, eyeing the two vampires carefully. Slade laughed.

"We won't hurt you unless you provoke us, and you haven't done yet. Besides, we just fed," Slade assured. Light relaxed ever so slightly. Jagger and Slade strode over to Chazz and hoisted him to his feet.

"C'mon, wake-y wake-y," Slade said impatiently. Much to the pupils' surprise, Chazz's eyelids fluttered. Slade went "Ugh" in desperation, and put his wrist to his youngest brother's mouth. Even more surprisingly, Chazz plunged his teeth into the wrist, and soon opened his eyes.

"'bout time," Jagger joked with an eye-roll. Chazz crossed his arms.

"Not _my _fault. That stupid kid nearly _killed_ me!" Chazz protested. His brothers laughed and messed up his hair. Chazz growled the kind of growl you let out when you know you're being teased.

"Uh…" Light put in hesitantly. "Don't we have bigger problems?"

"Right," Chazz responded, suddenly snapping back to earth. "First, we need to figure out how to… Hey, where did Alicia go?" The occupants in the room looked around and in deed the Neko was gone.

* * *

Zane surveyed his captive. He had escaped to an underwater cave under the island on which the academy sat. He had conjured up a very uncomfortable cage for Leslie to lie in while she was knocked out. Leslie shifted and rolled over, yawning slightly. Zane chuckled a bit and smirked, leaning on one of the cage's bars.

"So you're unconscious for so long you fell asleep." Leslie sat up stock straight at a moment's notice. She looked around quickly, her blonde-and-strawberry hair whipping around her face. She then slowly got up and faced her love.

"Let. Me. Go," she ordered fiercely. Zane pretended to think about it.

"How about… No," he replied. Leslie rattled the cage's bars threateningly.

"When I get out of here, you are _so_ dead, mister!"

"_If_ you get out of there," Zane corrected with a sneer. "With some luck, someone might find your body."

"OK, who are you and what have you done with Zane?" Leslie asked, slumping against the bars. Zane started laughing.

"I'm glad you asked, but I have no name. I was sent here inside that thing you call a Monster Item. I was waiting for a nice little vessel for me to enter and leave that thing behind. I was about to enter that vampire's body, but this wizard's is so much better! First, I just used Zane's small resentment to the vampire's power over him and boiled it, also giving Zane more power. So when you saw Zane before I knocked you out, that was him. However, as you see me now, I have total control, and when he outlasts his use, I'll turn to you."

"We-well then… who sent you?"

"The Ones behind the Door," Zane whispered, then all at once clutched his head in pain. "No! I'm sorry, st-stop it!" He fell to his knees as Leslie rose in surprise.

"Zane!" She screamed. Leslie pulled the bars as hard as she could, but they wouldn't bend a millimetre. Soon, however, he stood again, and forced Leslie away from the bars.

"I have told you more than you needed to know."

* * *

Alexis and her friends lay on her large, blue, round bed in a shape like a three-petal flower.

"Bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored." Mindy said repeatedly.

"I think we get it," Alexis put in, trying half-heartedly to stop the black-haired girl. Jasmine sighed and looked at the window.

"Hey, look at the kitties," she giggled. One was a stormy gray and the other was a tabby.

"Hey, I recognize those!" Alexis exclaimed, sitting up. She strode over to the window and opened it. The cats jumped in and transformed into their human forms.

"What're you doing here?" Mindy asked, not taking her eyes off of the ceiling.

"That big bully, Jerome, won't leave me alone," Shara complained. "All he enjoys is picking on Slifer kids and practically worshipping me."

"I, on the other hand, have much, much bigger issues which I don't think I'm allowed to share."

"Oh great, now you've got me curious," Alexis moaned. Alicia just pursed her lips and refused to say more.

"So… why did you come to _us_?" Jasmine asked. Alicia and Shara shrugged simultaneously.

"Seemed like a good thing to do at the time," Shara grinned. Alexis rolled her eyes and glanced at the horizon. A dragon was rising up out of the trees with three shadowy figures on its back. Without knowing it, Alexis daydreamed for about three seconds before snapping back to earth.

The sun was blotted out. The five girls ran to the window to look at the cause. A storm was brewing, but it was unnatural. Any creature could sense that. Alicia appeared deep in thought.

"Could it be…?" she murmured.

"What?" Alexis inquired. Alicia shook her head.

"Long story."

"We've got time," Alexis replied, sitting on the bed. Alicia sighed and sat next to the mermaid.

"It started with this Item…"

* * *

**Ugh, I had to fight through that last part -.- Ah well, I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!**

**(1) Kind of like Angel's power, from Maximum Ride, if you've ever read it.**


	14. Prophecies

**Back back… Anyone feel the strange urge to start baking when every time you touch a stove you burn your fingers? … No? Didn't think so…**

* * *

Leslie curled up in a ball, huddling around a small blue flame she had conjured for warmth. Zane lounged on a rock, examining his hands.

"So if you're an evil mastermind, _why aren't you doing anything?_" Leslie spat impatiently. Zane glared at her.

"I _am_ doing something. It's called _thinking_. Try it sometime," he replied, forcing himself to stay cool. Leslie growled and stared at her flame. Slowly, she started to see shapes. What was that? Bat wings? She squinted. A silhouette of a guy formed, and bat-like wings stretched from his shoulders. He looked familiar, but she couldn't realize who it was. Two more outlines grew next to him, taller than him and smoking slightly. Other figures rose behind them.

"Seeing something," Zane said suddenly. Leslie jumped, and looked at him strangely. "Your eyes were glazed over," he explained. "I think it's called… pyromancy. What did you see?" he asked, suddenly angry and impatient.

"I-I saw…" Leslie started, all at once unsure of telling the truth. On one hand, it might help her interpret it. On the other, he could use it to help _him_. "I saw… I strange creature with wings."

"Humanoid?" Leslie was reminded of Aster at the word "humanoid."

"No," she said confidently, "Kind of like a bird. Very graceful. Other birds were around it, different shapes and sizes." Zane smirked.

"Most likely you saw a phoenix, although a Feng Huang, a Chinese equivalent of the phoenix, though from what I have heard, other birds aid the phoenix to the border of paradise, flying in peace, so most likely it's a phoenix. Aster's last name is a dead giveaway, so it obviously means him. Since he's portrayed as a bird, and other birds are flying around him, it probably means he's the peace-bringer."

"Uh… sure," Leslie grunted. "Hey, how did you learn all this stuff?"

"Oh… bits and pieces… from an encyclopaedia here, a book there, minds are a good source too…" Zane mused. He went back to staring at his hands as he started thinking again, deeply. Leslie returned her gaze to the flames to see if she could see anything else, but she saw nothing. She soon fell asleep by the blue fire.

* * *

When she woke up, Zane had gone. Leslie actually started to feel lonely without his presence, even if he was evil now. It had to be reversible! The blue flame had started to die down, but she made no act to revive it.

Leslie was no dumb witch. She knew she had seen the future. But she couldn't do it again with the fire, so she started to ponder the other choices she knew. "Well, there's hydromancy… but there's no water, drat. Demonomancy's another choice, but I don't know how to summon a demon, and it probably wouldn't be smart anyway without protection… Well, I could do Gyromancy, where I walk in a circle and note where I stumble, but I'm not really sure how to read that… There's alomancy, but alas, I have no salt to throw… Astrology is definitely out of the question, along with Aeromancy. Ah! Sortilege!"

Leslie knew very well what sortilege was. That was basically what her family lived off of, but she never actually knew how. However, her mother had given her a set of dark purple runes. Leslie had been taught how to use them, but interpreting them was something you learned on your own. Leslie never had the patience, her fingers always itching to write instead of practicing witchcraft. She cursed herself silently for not heeding her parents' insistence that she practice.

She remembered very well what they had said. They had said she had the Gift of Sight. She was told this when she was very young, and even when it was explained to her, her little mind couldn't grasp it, and now she could hardly recall what they said about it. Leslie still wasn't sure what the Gift of Sight _really_ meant, but could it have something to do with divination? More importantly, _were her powers growing_?

Leslie sighed, hoped for the best, and pulled the runes out of her pocket. She always kept them with her, as reminders of her parents. She counted them. Yup, all 7 of them were there. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tossed the runes up in the air.

* * *

"Are you okay, little brother?" asked Jagger to Chazz while they rode Light on a search for the missing Zane. Chazz kept rubbing his shoulder blades as if they were in pain. Perhaps they were. Slade and Jagger kept reading their brother's signals.

"I'm not sure," Chazz replied. "My shoulders keep bothering me. They're aching, or something." Jagger glanced at Slade with one raised eyebrow.

"That's strange," Jagger commented.

"Hey," Slade said, slapping Chazz on the back, "maybe you're growing wings!"

"Ha ha, very funny," seethed Chazz, sarcasm loaded to the max. Suddenly, he doubled over in pain.

"_Are you all right?"_ a worried Light called. The older vampires glanced at each other again. Somewhat nervously, Jagger rubbed Chazz's back as one might do to a dog, all the while sending pulses of aura through his brother's body, searching for the cause of his discomfort. He didn't have to look far. Jagger gasped and stumbled backwards a bit, almost falling off of Light.

"_Hey, watch yourself!"_ Light fumed. _"I can't be responsible for you falling!"_

"Sorry," Jagger yelled to the dragon.

What Jagger had seen had frightened him fully. Chazz, who had shown no signs of becoming more than just a Normal Vampire with no powers… (1) Jagger shuddered.

"What did you see?" Slade inquired quietly, so that only Jagger could hear.

Jagger replied equally as quietly, "Wings… bat-like wings, folded inside and ready to come out."

* * *

"Oh wow," Alexis gasped. "And Light was there? _And he didn't do anything?_"

"He _couldn't_ do anything," Alicia protested. "I'd like to see _you_ face off against that thing. He's not Zane anymore!"

"I'd like to see that, too," a voice sounded from the doorway. All occupants jumped to see the spoken one himself leaning casually against the frame as if the frame was simply a tree under a lazy, afternoon sky.

"Speak of the devil," Shara murmured.

"No, not the devil," Zane said icily. "Worse." Tendrils of black reached out of the ground, and before anyone could scream, they were gagged by them. The tendrils wrapped themselves around their captives' arms and legs. Slowly, they drew the victims into the ground. "Much, much worse…"

* * *

**Sorry it's so short, but I want to start Light's turn next chapter, not in the middle of this one. Hope you understand! ****:)**

(1) see my profile for all the types of vampires, if you're confused. About halfway down, I think.


	15. The Ice Within

**As I said, Light's turn!**

* * *

A figure made entirely of pure light energy slowly appeared in the hospital room. It was obviously feminine, despite the lack of detail. She silently walked over to Aster's bed and touched his forehead. The glow of the energy grew brighter for a time, before she withdrew her hand. She quickly disappeared as Zane entered the room.

Zane forced the machines hooked up to him to malfunction. Aster stirred, and Zane placed his hands over Aster's eyelids. Dark power flooded the room, and all occupants, whether Zane wanted them or not, vanished to the cave.

* * *

Light landed earlier than he expected, out of worry for Chazz. Sure, the vampire wasn't the BEST friend ever, but Light couldn't help liking the guy. As he reverted back to human form, Chazz's brothers supported him. They set him against a tree. His forehead was hot for a dead person, and beads of sweat had started to appear on his face. Light sat next to him, not knowing what else to do. Chazz was still in immense pain. It still hadn't stopped.

"We have to keep going," Slade muttered impatiently. Slade crossed his arms and tapped his foot as Light glared at him. Light patted his friends back, but felt something warm. He drew his hand away to find it smeared with blood. Suddenly, large, bat-like wings erupted from Chazz's back, the said vampire lurching into a standing position at the same time. The creatures with him were forced backwards as the wings stretched themselves to their full length, which was humongous, I might add.

When Chazz opened his eyes, they were glowing a demonic black. You couldn't see the details any more. Chazz bared his fangs at Light, the incisors long, pointy, and deadly. All at once, his brothers leapt at him, pinning him to the large oak behind him. He snarled, his wings fighting to taste the night air. He grasped his brother's forearms, and Light saw that they were long and sharp. With a large flap, Chazz was air-born. He zoomed upwards, and then threw his brothers down at the dirt. Jagger shifted into an eagle, and Slade managed to grab a branch and steady himself before it broke and land on his feet.

Light, despite the two vampires trying to stop him, transformed into a dragon and chased after Chazz, who was flying away at top speed. Light enjoyed, for a brief moment, the air racing past his scales and the moon shining gleefully down at him, smiling her signature smile. He felt the power of fire burn comfortably in his chest.

Light followed his friend-driven-crazy to the edge of a cliff. There, Chazz landed. Light reverted to human form in the forest, and crept forwards. Chazz pulled his wings back into his back, and without warning, stepped off of the cliff. Light raced after Chazz, pausing at the edge. Chazz had leapt to black waters, and apparently had stayed underwater. Without thinking, Light jumped, too, plunging feet first into icy liquid.

Light forced himself to keep his eyes open, looking for a body before remembering that vampires didn't need to breathe. Instead, he noticed a dark crevice, and swan towards it. He moved quickly along it, and soon it opened to a larger vicinity. Stalactite hung from the roof, some of them connecting to stalagmite. Light's head broke the surface, and he took a much needed breath. He made his way over to a thin piece of rock that wasn't covered in water or stalagmites.

He noticed another crack, which he wiggled through. His foot slipped, and he fell down a hole and onto a bundle of grass. I have no idea why that's there, so don't ask why! What he found was his companions strewn about randomly, unconscious. He crawled over to Alexis, who happened to closest, and lifted her head up. She did not wake.

He noticed Kris wasn't there, nor was Chazz. He guessed Chazz had gone ahead, but where was the wolf demon? Light had no time to stay back and wait for them to stir, he had to keep moving. Light continued down his path.

* * *

Leslie caught her runes, studying the white inscriptions. 4 of them were face up, 2 of them were face down, and 1 was on its side. She couldn't read them. She threw the runes down with a shout of frustration.

"So you're a Seer," came a voice. Leslie jumped, but it wasn't Zane's voice, thank the gods. Leslie searched the cave where she was being held, but she saw no one. A shadow moved, and one side of the cage's bars were sliced in half as though it was a knife cutting through threads. Red eyes glowed as the roof of the cage fell lopsided. Leslie scuttled backwards, finding her runes again and holding them close. She squeezed her eyes shut as the roof was lifted.

Leslie felt a cold hand grasp her arm gently, and a sweet-smelling breath on her face. The owner's face was right in front of hers, but she kept her eyes closed. Another cold hand, the person's other hand, encased her own hands that were clasped around her runes. Something that sounded like leather moving echoed softly on both sides of her.

"Relax your mind," the voice ordered. "The runes are the only thing occupying it right now." Leslie found this difficult, but as she relaxed her mind, she felt her tense muscles relax also. She pictured the runes in her head. Suddenly, her head jerked back, and her eyes flew open, but she wasn't seeing anything in front of her.

Leslie spoke in a raspy voice. "_Bewitch he who was gone,  
__But not entirely.  
__Be those who enter the Door,  
__Battle the Ones behind it.  
__See the Battle commence,  
__And bring to Life the beings  
__Who once ruled the world.  
__Put an end to this once and for all,  
__And time may move again._"

As soon as Leslie had jerked, she fell limp. She fainted as the figure holding her straightened.

"Thanks for the info," the figure said dryly, setting her down softly.

* * *

Light's footsteps pounded against the walls, resonating back at him with full force. He skidded to a stop when he heard a raspy voice that sounded a bit like Leslie.

"_Bewitch he who was gone,  
__But not entirely.  
__Be those who enter the Door,  
__Battle the Ones behind it.  
__See the Battle commence,  
__And bring to Life the beings  
__Who once ruled the world.  
__Put an end to this once and for all,  
__And time may move again._"

And then it stopped. It made absolutely no sense to Light, but he steadily made his way forward, despite his shaking knees and the anticipation that he probably wouldn't be the only one there. He was greeted by open air.

Light sensed a presence, however, but as he stepped forward, a voice called out, "Don't take another step!" It was Chazz's voice! Light stopped, but felt a hand cover his mouth and a strong arm pin his own arms to his body. He saw Chazz's silhouette enter his line of sight.

"If you want him to live, you won't come any closer," Zane suggested quietly. Light stared into Chazz's glowing red eyes, his breathing heavy. The vampire's wings were out, folded in a comfortable position.

"What do you want, Zane?" Chazz snarled. Zane laughed calmly.

"It's not Zane you're talking to anymore, leech." Chazz flinched at the word leech. "I heard the prophecy your little witch friend told you. Very interesting." Suddenly, Light bit Zane's hand as hard as he could, tasting the steely flavour of blood in his mouth. Zane threw him mercilessly aside and into the wall. As soon as that had happened, Chazz lurched at Zane, knocking him down. Zane used the momentum to roll on his spine and throw Chazz backwards.

Light felt dizzy. He was sure he didn't hit his head that hard. Although, he _did_ accidentally swallow a bit of Zane's blood…

Chazz's wings cracked outwards, and Chazz sped towards Zane once more.

Light felt a bit weightless. He could barely feel the ground beneath him, too. Or… was he even on the ground? He really couldn't tell.

He heard a growl. Zane stepped back with a smirk, and a wolf with one dark green eye and one dark blue eye trotted up next to him.

"I see you got Kris on your side," Chazz mused, his eyes still bright red. "What kind of bribery did you have to use?"

"I used none, she joined me of her own free will," Zane laughed. Light glared at the wolf demon, before trying to put his hand on the ground and feeling air.

"Uh… help?" Light called. Three pairs of eyes turned towards him as he lost his position and flipped over. He heard Kris rush over to him and, putting her paws on his chest, forced him back to the ground. Just as she did that, a large oak tree sprouted from the rock.

"Emi! Crap!" Zane shouted. He spun around, but as he did that, Chazz took the moment to take hold of him. Aster calmly walked into the scene, closely followed by Emerald. Aster was glowing in a strange white light. As Zane struggled, Aster touched two fingers to the wizard's forehead. They were both enveloped in white light, and Light felt weightless again. The whole room vanished from his vision.

* * *

Light found himself back where his unconscious companions used to be. Kris's wolf form was next to him, knocked out. This room felt different, somehow. Maybe it was the eerie blue glow coming from everything. Leaving Kris behind, Light started down the path again to the large room.

Soon, he entered the room again. Zane was on the ground, and Aster had fallen too, only, he was caught by Emerald. Chazz was actually hanging from the ceiling, his wings enveloping him. The creepy part about this was that Light saw himself and Kris… Only, he wasn't looking into a mirror. That was his body! Did he die?

Light hurried over to his body, and went to touch it, in hopes of reviving himself. Before he could, his wrist was grabbed by a pure white, energy formed like a hand. He looked up to find a feminine form shaking her head slowly.

"You cannot re-enter your body yet, there are things to be done. There's a reason you're a spirit right now," she explained, her voice soothing and soft. She took her hand away and spread her arms out. She began to shine fiercely, blinding Light for a bit. Details began to form on her, giving her wide blue eyes, long blonde locks of hair, and yellow painted nails. She was wearing a white dress, and her skin was deathly pale.

"What do I have to do? And who are you?" Light asked frantically.

"You must save the being who has gone, but has not left," she said cryptically. "I am known as Zora."

"How do I do it?"

"Enter his body…" Zora began to fade away. Before Light could answer any questions, she was gone. So instead of entering his own body, Light touched Zane's. He felt a force pull him in, and he was inside of Zane's mind. But he wasn't alone. There was a dark shape, a figure like a panther, and golden eyes stared back at him.

"Are you the one who's been making Zane evil?" Light interrogated. He was greeted with a growl.

"You can't make me go back! For hundreds of years, I have been waiting for a chance to escape the World behind the Door! _You can't make me go back!_"

"Wanna bet?" Light shot back. He searched inside himself for the fire bubbling inside of him. He took a deep, supernatural breath, but instead of breathing fire, he set loose ice. The panther dodged nimbly, and leaped towards Light. The panther hit him full in the chest, and they both tumbled. Light felt a force pushing at him again, and he found himself outside of Zane, except that this time, the panther was forced out also.

Light could only see his own body, but he paid no attention to his surroundings. The panther leapt at him again. Light calmly sidestepped him, and the panther crashed into the stone wall behind him.

"Idiot," Light murmured. A large door, not unlike the one he saw in Emerald's transmutation circle, bled into the wall where the panther had crashed. It opened inwards, and winds began to compel everything inside. Light got on his stomach and his hands searched the floor for anything to hold on to while he was being dragged across it towards the door. The panther was taken behind it while it was screaming "No!!" Light's fingers clutched a small dent, and the door squeezed shut. But not before he saw millions of eyes staring at him.

Soon, all was quiet again, and Light was finally able to return to his body.

* * *

When Light woke up, his head was being cradled in gentle hands. His blue eyes stared into honey brown eyes.

"Alexis…" he said weakly, before his mind fell black again.

"How strange," Chazz mused.

"How strange?" Leslie shot him an incredulous look. "After all that, all you can say is _how strange?_" Zane's head was lying in her lap. He, like Light, had woken up, only to pass out again.

"Well, it is. First, Light and Kris have no pulse. Then, they both magically wake up about 10 minutes later," Chazz responded.

"Are you crazy!?" Alexis shouted at him. Chazz merely shrugged.

"Time to go," was all he said. He took Zane and Kris, and he disappeared. The occupants felt the air his wings had disturbed, however, so he didn't teleport.

"Time to go," Leslie repeated. "Let's go, then."

* * *

**Ahh… nice and long. The Halloween dance is next!**

**Just remember this: All is not what it seems.**


	16. Dance Night!

**This is Halloween, this is Halloween… blah blah blah**

**No Halloween songs ('cept, maybe, Danse Macabre.) This is just like a normal school dance… well, a BIT more formal. But first, we have to go and find the repercussions from Zane's evilness. **

* * *

Leslie apparated Light out of the cave while everyone else was forced to walk. Alexis seemed off in another world.

Once their heads broke the surface and they finally saw sun again, the day seemed brighter. The Halloween dance was today, at sunset. It's only at dances like these that the two different Classes are allowed to mingle officially. How could you not be psyched? The first dance of the year… everyone was spending hours just plain old thinking about what they were going to wear.

However, due to last chapter's events, certain students didn't have time to think about their appearances. They were too busy being unconscious in the hospital room.

Well, by now, they'd be awake… Oh whatever! Just bring the stinkin' camera to the hospital room!

"How'd you do it, Light?" Leslie asked him quietly.

"I don't really know. Aster was there… he did something, and the next thing I knew, I had a huge task on my hands," Light replied. Suddenly, Aster sat up in his bed.

"I'm sorry about 'killing' you," he started. When Light looked at him curiously, he continued. "You didn't… happen to see anyone in the spirit world, did you?"

Light thought about it. His memory was beginning to turn fuzzy, but he thought he could remember someone. "Y-yeah, a lady… named… Zora?" Aster shivered. "What?"

"Zora was my mother," he said so softly, Light had to strain to catch what he said.

"Oh…"

Chazz strode into the room, making almost everyone jump. Only Zane didn't, who was silent the whole time.

"You're free to go," he announced. Most of the occupants cheered. "Go and get ready for the dance." Most of the occupants leapt out of bed and headed for their rooms at top speed. Zane was left.

"You need to feed," he told the vampire. Chazz growled slightly.

"I know… but…" Zane cut him off with a wave of the hand. He took out a pocket knife. "Zane… don't! What if I kill you?" Chazz protested. Zane just glared at him. The wizard took the blade and drew it across the palm of his hand. He didn't wince, merely held out the bloody palm to Chazz. Chazz clenched his eyes shut, but opened the again. He sighed with defeat, and took Zane's wrist, placing his lips to his palm.

The sweet liquid filled his mouth, cooling his thirst. However, all too soon, he could feel Zane weakening. Of course, human blood quenched the best, but Chazz would have to deal with magic blood. With a wrench of pure will, he tore away from Zane's hand. Zane quickly wrapped a bandage around it. Chazz pinched his nose and closed his eyes to stop himself from killing anyone.

"You should get ready for the dance, too," Zane whispered.

"Huh?" But Zane had left. Chazz sighed in defeat, and felt his skin ripple. He gradually was turned invisible, and he spread his wings and flew out of the building.

* * *

In the girl's dorm, the females of our group were chatting amiably and getting ready for the Halloween dance. Shara, who was done, was helping Emerald with her hair.

Shara was wearing a bubblegum pink silk dress. Its shoulders where the sleeves started were puffy, and the sleeves themselves were long and ended in a point on her hand. Her shoes were ballet-style, purple flats with pink circles in the center. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, but was tied with a stiff ribbon that wrapped around a few times, forming a tube-like holder and forcing her hair up and out. She twirled often to show off the spinning capabilities her dress had.

Emerald was wearing a long green, velvety dress with a square neck. The sleeves were tight down to her elbow, where there was a strip of gold ribbon before it flared out. The sleeves were a translucent material. She was wearing a black, thick cloth belt with a gold moon attached to the center. In the front of the dress at a little higher than knee height were two gold circular pin-like buttons holding up the thick black trim. The trim was supported in two places and it fell in between them. It revealed a light green underlying cloth.

Shara was attempting to comb out Emerald's braid so that she could do her hair. Shara wanted to have a tightly woven braid wrap around Emerald's head while the rest of her hair cascaded down her back.

Kris's hair was in a bun with a pair of dark blue chopsticks poking through it. Her dress had no straps, and did not flare out. At the top, it started out as a sky blue, but as your eyes travelled down to the bottom, it faded into a midnight blue. She wore sky blue gloves that reached only her wrists. She didn't really have sleeves, but she had slip-on arm bands that looked like short sleeves. They puffed out on the outside of her arm, and were also sky blue.

Leslie's dress was a beautiful silvery-purple. It covered her feet, and the neck covered about half of her throat, and that was rolled a bit. In seemingly random spots, crystal flowers with silver petals and light purple centers were sewn into the fabric. Her sleeves were also translucent, but hung more like shirt-sleeves. At the end of the sleeve, a silver braid was embroidered, as with the bottom of the dress. Her hair was in a short, slightly puffy ponytail.

Alicia was brooding in the corner of the room they were crammed in. She had changed into a long skirt that looked like it had three layers when in fact it didn't. That was a gentle pine green. Her shirt showed a little bit of mid-drift, but not much of it. The neck was low and reached her shoulders, with the straps on her biceps. The straps hung loosely, and split in two about an inch from the torso. (If you've ever seen the OP for Vampire Knight, Yuki wears a top kind of like that) This is a bluish-white which made you think of wind. Her hair was in two low pigtails, convinced to be put in them by Leslie.

Alicia hated dressing up.

"Cheer up, Ali!" Leslie pouted. "You don't have to wear it forever! Just for this dance!"

"Whatever," Alicia pouted.

"Wait!" Emerald cried. The girls turned towards her. She held out flowers, each differently colored to match a girl's dress. "As long as I'm conscious, these flowers will keep blooming for the dance!" Each girl took one and put it in her hair.

* * *

Light nearly had the heart attack of his life. He had just finished putting on his shirt when Chazz rose out of the floor of his room. A second after that, Zane literally popped in.

"The girls are all together, so we thought we'd keep you company," Zane explained to a wide-eye Light. Light took deep, calming breaths.

"Okay, that's fine by me." Light was wearing a white collared shirt with black and gray flames lining the cuffs of the sleeves and the base. His pants were white also, with gray and black flames shooting up from the bottom. His shoes were white loafers.

Chazz was wearing an ashen gray jacket with a black collared shirt underneath and a red tie with a white crescent moon on it. His pants were black, and his loafers were gray. Light noticed that his Item had changed from a crescent moon facing Chazz's right to a crescent moon facing the other way with a double jagged lightning bolt cradled in it.

Zane also had a jacket. This was dark blue, and his black tie was decorated with bright, off-white stars. His shirt was a light blue, and his pants matched his jacket, and his shoes were black.

"It seems to me like we're ready," Light said. "Why don't we see how the girls are doing?" The other two boys nodded and they went to pick Leslie, Alicia, Kris, Shara, and Emerald up. Of course, though, they had to meet up with Jaden, Syrus, and Aster first.

Aster hadn't changed his outfit at all. His suit was nice all the time. Jaden was wearing a red jacket with a black shirt and black pants. Syrus was wearing a penguin suit (though not literally) and a bow tie.

Zane stepped forward and rapped three times on the girls' door. Leslie opened it a crack, saw who it was, and threw it wide open. She buffeted Zane with a big hug.

"You look beautiful," Zane complimented.

"You too," Leslie replied.

"Let's get this over with," Alicia interrupted. She took Syrus's hand and started to pull him in the direction of the dance. The rest of the group laughed and followed.

* * *

When they reached the dance, even those who decorated the place were shocked. The whole big picture was awesome, maybe even a bit spooky, with fake spider webs and large, furry, stuffed arachnids. "What is Love?" was blaring over the speakers, and people were dancing like crazy and singing along. The girls and their respective partners spread out among the dance floor and… danced. Kris, Light, and Chazz were the only ones not dancing, seeing as they didn't have anyone to officially dance with.

(A/N Italics means a girl is singing. Bold means a guy is singing.)

**What is love?  
****Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me,  
****No more.  
****Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me…  
****No more.**

**What is love ?  
****Yeah !**

**I don't know,  
****Why you're not fair,  
****I give you my love,  
****But you don't care!  
****So what is right, and what is wrong?  
****Give me a sign…**

It was almost comical the way some people could not do the head bang. Light spotted Alexis, and decided to keep his eye on her. She was dancing with her two friends, all the time trying to shoo away guys.

**What is love?  
****Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me,  
****No more.  
****What is love?  
****Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me,  
****No more…**

Light snuck around the crowd to the snack table. With his back to the crowd, he put a handful of candy corn on a plastic plate. He felt a tap on his shoulder.

_Uoh whoah whoah uoh oh, oh uoh oh, ohh…  
__Uoh whoah whoah uoh oh, oh uoh oh, ohh…_

"Light?" It was Alexis. Light put his plate down and bravely faced Alexis. "Would you like to dance?" She was wearing a long, spaghetti-strap ocean blue dress with white sequins sewed in. It flared out at the bottom, making her look a bit like a mermaid… even though she is one…

**Oh I don't know,  
****What can I do?  
****What else can I say,  
****It's up to you…  
****I know we're one,  
****Just me and you,  
****I can't go on…**

"Sure, Alexis," Light agreed. She smiled at him.

"Great, but first…" She stole a bit of his candy corn and ate it.

"Hey, get your own!" Light complained light-heartedly.

**What is love?  
****Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me,  
****No more.  
****What is love?  
****Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me,  
****No more.**

The two creatures chased each other around the edge of the crowd. There was a plate of forgotten candy corn (which was soon eaten by the authoress) left at the snack table.

_Uoh whoah whoah uoh oh, oh uoh oh, ohh…  
__Uoh whoah whoah uoh oh, oh uoh oh, ohh…_

The song ended soon after, and Light and Alexis collapsed into chairs that were strategically placed around the perimeter of the room. The DJ took over the mike.

"Hellooooooo creatures of every kind!" he shouted enthusiastically. "It's time for some… karaokeeeeeeee!!" Half of the room cheered in joy, the other, clapped with indifference. Only a few people did nothing. "Who wants to go first??" A flurry of hands shot into the air, one person getting socked in the jaw. "How about… the young lady right there!!" He pointed to Kris. With a gentle shove from Chazz, she got up onto the stage that had been rolled in earlier that day. "OK, I want you to sing My Heart Will Go On, by Celine Dion."

"O-okay," Kris agreed. The karaoke machine was set in front of her, and she started to sing. Her voice fit the pitches perfectly, and was surprisingly a good singer.

_Every night in my dreams,  
__I see you,  
__I feel you.  
__That is how I know you  
__Go on…_

Light did a mocking bow and held his hand out to Alexis. She giggled and took it.

_Far across the distance,  
__And spaces between us,  
__You have shown you…  
__Go on…_

Like a gentleman escorting a lady to a formal dance, Light led Alexis to the center of the crowd. The crowd parted as if they knew what was coming.

_Near, Far,  
__Wherever you are,  
__I believe that the heart does go on.  
__Once more, you open the door,  
__And you're here in my heart,  
__And my heart will go on  
__And on…_

Light led the dance. The two slowly and jerkily started before smoothing up. They moved in a wide circle with Light spinning Alexis every once in a while. All the while, they looked into each other's eyes with a serious face.

_Love can touch us one time,  
__And last for a lifetime  
__And never let go 'till we're gone._

Soon, other people joined the circle with their respective dates. Jaden, Shara, Emerald, Aster, Zane, and Leslie joined them. Zane and Leslie were obviously the better dancers, while Aster was good, but Emerald was a bit clumsy and kept looking at her feet despite Aster's attempt not to let her do so.

_Love was when I loved you,  
__One true time I hold to,  
__In my life we'll always go on…_

A few people had either cell phones or lighters out, and were waving them in the twilit room. I have no idea where they got lighters.

_Near, far, wherever you are,  
__I believe the heart does go on…  
__Once more, you open the door,  
__And you're here in my heart,  
__And my heart will go on  
__And on…_

Light and Alexis leaned in closer. Leslie put her head on Zane's chest.

_You're here,  
__There's nothing I fear!  
__And I know my heart will  
__Go on…_

_We'll stay,  
__Forever this way,  
__You are safe in my heart  
__And my heart will go on  
__And on…_

Light's and Alexis's lips pressed together. Light found himself tipping her, holding her slight weight. He pulled away and smiled into her eyes. People were cheering. Light pulled her up.

"We got a nice couple dance goin' on that song, eh?" the DJ laughed. "Good job, girl. How about getting a guy up here? You, in the red!" The DJ pointed to Jaden. Jaden leaped up to the platform. "How about singing a little one by Maroon 5 for your girl there? Here's… She Will Be Loved!"

"Um… okay, here I go," Jaden laughed. As he started, he began flat, but eventually found the right pitch.

**Beauty queen of only eighteen, she  
****Had some trouble with herself.  
****He was always there to help her, she  
****Always belonged to someone else.  
****  
I drove for miles and mile  
****And wound up at your door!  
****I've had you so many times,  
****But somehow,  
****I want more!**

At this time, Jerome had approached Shara and asked her to dance. He was holding his hand out. Shara looked at Jaden, who nodded and winked in a silent "Okay." She took Jerome's hand, and suddenly, he swooped her into his chest, so that she and he were facing the same direction.

**I don't mind spendin' every day,  
****Out on your corner in the pouring rain!  
****Look for the girl with the broken smile,  
****Ask her if she wants to stay a while,  
****And she will… be loved  
****She will… be loved.**

Jerome spun her out again and dipped her. Shara took this moment to rip off her Item and escape in her feline form.

**Tap on my window knock on my door, I  
****Want to make you feel beautiful.  
****I know I tend to get so insecure,  
****It doesn't matter  
****Any more!**

Shara the purple cat appeared on stage and leaped onto Jaden's shoulders. His smile broadened.

**It's not always rainbows and butterflies,  
****It's compromise  
****That moves us along, yeah…  
****My heart is full and my door's always open,  
****You can come anytime you want.**

Jerome growled at the couple. He knew that Shara didn't like him, but he deserved at least one dance, right?

**I don't mind spendin' everyday,  
****Out on your corner in the pouring rain!  
****Look for the girl with the broken smile,  
****Ask her if she wants to stay a while,  
****  
And she will… be loved,  
****And she will… be lo-o-oved,  
****And she will… be loved,  
****And she will, be lo-o-oved…**

**I know where you hide,  
****Alone in your car,  
****Know all of the things that make you who you are,  
****I know that goodbye means nothing at all,  
****Comes back and begs to catch her every time she…  
****Falls…**

**Ye-yeah…**

**Tap on my window,  
****Knock on my door, I  
****Wanna make you feel beautiful…**

Shara purred happily into Jaden's ear, which made him laugh into the mic.

**I don't mind spendin' every day,  
****Out on your corner in the pouring rain!  
****Look for the girl with the broken smile,  
****Ask her if she wants to stay a while…**

Jaden's bold karaoke had people rocking back and forth, and also had them laughing. Not at him, mind you, but out of the joy of the party. Now, the authoress does not wish to finish the song for you, 'cause she's dead tired of it, and will probably put less karaoke in than she thought.

After the song, Shara reverted back into human form. Jaden grabbed her gently and spun her to face him. They grinned at each other before launching into a kiss. People (and monsters) cheered for the sake of love.

Light and Alexis, Leslie and Zane, Shara and Jaden, Emerald and Aster, all were entwined with each other's destinies. They were bound in a power so sweet, it defied logic and any deity that may or may not exist. (This is what you get for letting me listen to "Memories" by Within Temptation) Their love was so pure, so… indescribable, that any outsider could see that they were meant to be.

One poor creature had never felt love, amongst all this commotion. He was something a person feared to love. His eyes watched the dance from the edges of the crowd, possible jealousy floating in them. It wasn't until Kris joined him from her karaoke excursion did he swear his heart jumped.

"Chazz, when are you going to stop sulking?" Kris asked. "You're almost making _me_ glum." Chazz bit his lip.

"Sorry." Kris sighed.

"No need to be sorry. It feels like we're the only ones without dates. Even Light got one eventually." Chazz swallowed.

"Kris…"

"What?"

"Since, well, you know, we don't have dates, how about we dance together? As friends?" Chazz looked at her squarely in the eyes. In her hair was a blue rose kept alive by Emerald's magic. That fragrance filled Chazz's nose. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath.

"Sure. I suppose this will give us both comfort," Kris agreed. Chazz took her hand and led her to the dance floor. The DJ decided to take a break from karaoke – he promised it would be back later that night – and Forever by Papa Roach started to play. Chazz and Kris marched around each other in a small, tight circle. Kris couldn't help blushing. What was with that way he looked at her? Did he want to eat her, or something? Kris giggled softly at the thought.

Light also marched with Alexis. The rest of the couples from the group were taking a break, but Light wanted to have as much time as possible with his girl. _His_ girl, no one else's. There wasn't a force in the world that would tear him apart from her this night.

**In the brightest hour,  
****Of my darkest day,  
****I realized  
****What is wrong with me…**

**Can't get over you,  
****Can't get through to you!  
****It's been a helter-skelter romance  
****From the start.**

**Take these memories,  
****That are haunting me,  
****Of a paper man cut into shreds  
****By his own pair of scissors,**

**He'll never forgive her,  
****He'll never forgive her…**

It was almost as if Chazz and Light were mirroring each other. Their steps were measured, perfect. It was an unspoken dance.

**Because days come and go!  
****But my feelings for you are forever…!  
****Because days come and go-oo-oh,  
****But my feelings for you are forever!**

Chazz started to get a prickling feeling at the back of his neck. Everything was too perfect. Great music, happy students, relationships working out the way at least one of the pair wanted. Something was bound to happen, said his gut.

**Sitting by a fire,  
****On a lonely night,  
****Hanging over from another good time**

**With another girl,  
****Little dirty girl!  
****You should listen to this story of a life…**

**You're my heroine,  
****In this moment, I'm lonely  
****Fulfilling my darkest dreams!**

**All these drugs, all these women  
****Have never forgiven this broken heart of mine.**

This prickling feeling would not go away. He wanted it to. He willed it to go away, but it stayed there. He wanted the night to stay perfect. He did not want to ruin it with his worry. Why can't the students have one perfect night?

**Because days, come and go!  
****But my feelings for you are forever!  
****Because days, come and go-oo-oh,  
****But my feelings for you are forever!**

**One last kiss,  
****Before I go…  
****Dry your tears,  
****It is time, to let you go! **

**One last kiss…  
****(One last kiss)  
****Before I go…  
(****Before I go)  
****Dry your tears,  
(****Dry your tears)  
****It is time, to let you go!**

**Because days, come and go!  
****But my feelings for you are forever!  
****Because days, come and go-oo-oh,  
****But my feelings for you are forever!**

**One last kiss…  
(****One last kiss)  
****Before I go…  
(****Before I go)  
****Dry your tears,  
(****Dry your tears)  
****It is time, to let you go!**

**One last kiss…  
****Before I go…  
****Dry your tears…  
****It is time…  
****To let you go…**

**One last kiss…**

And just like Chazz predicted, something horrible would happen, right there, right at that moment.

* * *

**Mwahaha, cliffhanger! I have to keep you wanting SOMEhow! :P**


	17. The Night is Ruined

**OK, maybe I can get this up faster THIS time! I'm so happy right now. This story is shaping nicely to my demands… and yours, too, of course. XD **

**I suppose Kris's chapters start now.**

* * *

It didn't happen with a big bang. Chazz's blood ran cold, but his skin heated up. It was a peculiar feeling, and Kris felt it in his hands. She pulled away from him, looking at him curiously. Chazz shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself. Zane was soon at his side, followed by Leslie. Zane took Chazz's arms and pulled him away. Away from Kris, away from the crowd, away from the warm-blooded creatures.

Kris made an attempt to follow Chazz, but it was like her body wouldn't listen to her. Instead, she turned around and left out of the other exit. She found herself followed by Light and Alicia. She wanted to whirl around and tell them to go back to the party, but some unknown force kept her moving.

She turned a corner and found herself standing in front of the vampire and the two wizards. Light and Alicia stood beside her. Chazz was struggling ferociously now, against the hold Zane had on him. Chazz was snarling and hissing, his long canines exposed. Several times, he tried to bite Zane, but a burst from Leslie's power shot his head away from where he tried.

"What is the matter with you!?" Zane cried, struggling himself. "Calm down, Chazz!" Suddenly, Chazz started shouting in a strange language.

"_Yleh gerr marreh shuv!_" He tried to bite Zane's hand again, but it was like he was socked in the jaw when Leslie stopped him. "_Yleh gerr tyruma jestd!_" His crazed eyes locked on Kris. His struggling increased. Was Zane weakening? Kris took a step forward, and Chazz strained towards her, blood-lust in his eyes. Leslie glared at the demon. "_Hevlu qesz vaird! Come closer, to where I can reach you!_" He hissed the last part.

Kris shivered. One more step would bring her an arm's length away from Chazz's face. She could feel Alicia's and Light's eyes on her back. She took one more step.

All hell broke loose. Chazz ripped himself away from Zane. Leslie tried to stop him, but that attempt ended in her crashing into a wall. A flame shot from Light, scorching his mouth in the process. Chazz ducked easily under it. Kris reached out her hand, and touched Chazz's face.

Chazz stopped. Kris pressed her palm to his cold face. It was as if time had frozen.

"Now, there," Kris crooned, "you wouldn't kill your date, would you?" Chazz's body had relaxed as soon as Kris had touched him. She dropped her hand, slightly embarrassed. He did not snap out of his trance right away. He paused long enough for Zane to take hold of him again. Alicia was by Leslie, who had been knocked out. Leslie's arm was fractured, and Light helped Alicia start to carry her towards the infirmary. Zane glared at Kris.

"You're lucky he didn't kill you," he said, his voice full of venom. Kris shrugged. Zane's stare just hardened. He turned his attention to Chazz. "What was the matter with you!?" Chazz shook his head roughly.

"I'm not entirely sure… It's just like I suddenly realized that there were all these warm bodies around me, and they probably couldn't resist…" He flinched.

Screams suddenly erupted from the dance room.

Aster and Emerald had been singing Total Eclipse of the Heart when the power had failed in that room only. Kris could still see, thanks to her wolf vision, and Chazz could, too, of course. He seemed to have calmed down, but Zane still didn't dare let go of the vampire. Zane conjured up orbs of light, so that the occupants could see.

It felt like an earthquake had started. The ground shook like it never had before. Out of the center of the dance floor, rose – about two feet thick – a huge, double door. It nearly reached the ceiling, and while Kris could guess that this was like the other door she had seen and the door Light had seen, it was hugely different. It was more ornate, with ivy-like decorations carved into it. Its handles, higher than any person in there could reach, were round and antique, with two rubies in them.

"Get out of here!" Zane roared to the crowd, including the DJ. "Go back to your dorms!" The panicked people obeyed immediately. Only Aster, Emerald, Chazz, Kris, Zane, Alexis, Shara, Jerome, Jaden, and Syrus remained in the room. Aster and Emerald jumped down from the stage to stand with the group.

"Where's Leslie?" Emerald asked.

"Light and Alicia took her to the infirmary," Zane bluntly replied. "She fractured her arm."

"Oh." The door started to open, and huge gusts of wind tried to pull everything inside as it opened. Soon, the panels had opened so much that they were sticking straight out. Out of the darkness gleamed two ruby-colored slanted eyes. They appeared to grow as the owner stepped closer.

The person soon stepped into the light of the orbs. He had long brown hair, and was wearing a brown dragon mask. His costume was elaborate, consisting mainly of brown and dusty blue. Zane glared at the stranger.

"Whatever it is you are doing here, please leave," he forced out in a strained tone. The stranger sneered.

"I have come here on urgent business," he said. "I believe there is a wolf demon among you?" Kris, nor anyone, changed their facial expressions. The stranger put on a playful, pouting face. "Aww, come on, I know there is one among you! I know it's not him…" He pointed to Chazz. "…because I drove his instincts wild." Chazz winced.

"So it was you!" Kris accused. "You made him act so crazy!" The stranger shrugged.

"It's the Door's power. It has an… interesting side effect on vampires just before they appear. Ah!" The stranger had caught sight of Aster and Emerald. "I know you two!" Emerald's eyes widened. Aster's narrowed. "You two tried to defy physics with petty Alchemy." They both flinched. The stranger strode over to Chazz. "I know you were there with the wolf," he growled. "I saw you myself. Who is it?" Chazz shook his head again. The stranger just smirked. He snapped his fingers, and all at once, again, Chazz started to struggle against Zane.

The stranger just laughed. Kris wasn't the only one who wanted to strangle him, but didn't dare. (OMG, just noticed. The first six letters of stranger are the same as strangle.) Luckily, Aster and Emerald were still holding the mics, and they had wisely detached them from the karaoke machine. Aster's mic bopped into the stranger's head right before Emerald's. He growled, and Chazz finally calmed down, panting heavily with a pained, sorry look on his face. The stranger started to back towards the Door.

"You will regret this," he said quietly. "Nightshroud doesn't forget things like this."

A shot of flame stopped Nightshroud in his tracks, followed by falling glass. Light was outside in his dragon form, with Alicia on his back.

"Miss us!?" Alicia asked loudly. She jumped nimbly down. Light reverted to human form and jumped not-so-nimbly down.

"How's Leslie?" Zane asked.

"She's fine. Ms. Fontaine just wants to keep her there overnight," Alicia told him. Zane nodded, and they both turned back towards Nightshroud.

"So…" Nightshroud started. Suddenly, he turned and raced for the Door. Chazz leaped, using his lightning speed, and tackled him. Jerome growled, and started to change. His muscles bulged, and he became… hairier. His hair got more craggily, and he grew a brown, fluffy tail.

The other people changed, too. Shara and Alicia changed into Nekos, Light changed back into a dragon, and Kris, without thinking, went into her demon wolf form. By then, Nightshroud had thrown Chazz off. He started to laugh.

"So the demon shows herself!" Nightshroud snickered He snapped his fingers and everyone froze in place. Nightshroud calmly walked around the living statues and stood in front of Kris. He snapped his fingers again, and Kris was suddenly trapped in a blue orb. With the trapped wolf demon in his wake, Nightshroud – laughing maniacally the whole time – walked back to the door.

"Later, suckers!" Nightshroud called. As soon as he vanished from sight, the door closed, and everyone could move again.

"NO!" Chazz screamed, hitting his fist into the floor. He shot forward towards the door, where Jerome was already pounding on it.

"WAIT!" Zane shouted. The rest of the group stopped what they were doing and turned towards the sorcerer. "I have an idea. Light, go get Leslie. Chazz, come here, and Jerome, back away." The corresponding creatures did as they were told. Light raced to retrieve the witch from the infirmary, Jerome leaped backwards, and Chazz strolled in Zane's direction.

"Chazz," Zane started. "I know how to open that door. However, I'm going to need your and Leslie's help." The vampire did not fully understand what Zane was saying, but he nodded anyway.

They waited a few minutes while Light was on his mission. He came back with a weary-looking Leslie. The healing spell made her sleepy. She saw the door, and the missing Kris, and understood immediately.

"What do I have to do?" Leslie asked.

"Stand by me," Zane ordered. Chazz stood on his right, Leslie on his left. He put his hands, palm up, in front of them. They put their hand that was nearest to him lightly on his palm.

When Zane was doing this, his eyes were closed. Now they snapped open, and they were glowing white. He became enveloped by white light as he absorbed his friends' power. He withdrew his hands and formed a circle with them in front of his chest. Chazz and Leslie fainted.

A beam of bluish-white light shot forward and hit the Door. Everyone was bathed in the light and their colors appeared to evaporate. This seemed to go one for a long while, before Zane's spell stopped. He fell to his knees, exhausted.

"What was the point of that—" Light started. The Door started to creek open. _Krrrrrrrr…!_ Zane smiled weakly, and roused Leslie.

"Zane…" she murmured. "Why did you do that?"

"We have to save Kris," he told her. She shook her head.

"I know, but you did black magic," she said. Syrus inwardly gasped, but said nothing. Zane cringed.

"I know, dear, but I did what I had to do."

"What are you guys waiting for!?" Jaden cried. "Let's _go!_" He raced towards the Door, with Jerome, Shara, Alexis, and Syrus on his heels. Chazz lurched to his feet suddenly, and pulled Zane and Leslie up. The rest chased after the human.

* * *

Kris didn't even realize that she had fallen unconscious. When she woke up, her paws were all in shackles, and she was in a cage (man, I'm cage-happy…) that was highly uncomfortable. It was very dark, and Kris could only make out the shadows of the bars.

She smelled before she saw the figure approach. She growled deeply. The figure laughed. It was Nightshroud.

"Now, now, puppy, no need to be so angry," he said. Kris reverted to her human form so she could talk and noticed, with disappointment, that the shackles shrank to fit her wrist and ankles.

"What do I have to do to get outta here?" Kris demanded. In answer, Nightshroud tossed her a duel disk with cards in it. She checked the cards and was please to find her cards in it. She stood up and fitted the disk over her shackles, shuffled, and drew five cards. Nightshroud drew six.

"I summon Red Eyes Black Chick," he announced. "Then I use its effect to special summon Red Eyes Black Dragon. I place two cards face down and end my turn." Kris's face fell. A card with 2400 attack points on the first turn! She was lucky he couldn't attack.

"Okay, deck," she said quietly. "I'm counting on you." She placed her hand on the top card, and drew.

* * *

**Cliff hanger for two reasons. 1) when I wrote this, I didn't have internet access, and therefore no access to card details, so I only did what I knew. 2) 'Cause I love to keep you hanging.**

Next chapter, you can find out what Chazz said.


	18. Halloween Special!

**So I've decided to do a DMA Halloween special for you guys. The group, bored on the night before Halloween, decide to get out an Ouija board. Perhaps hilarious and hopefully slightly spooky actions ensue.**

'Twas the night before Halloween. The harvest moon was large, full, and orange, hovering above the horizon. Leslie, Zane, Alicia, Syrus, Shara, Jaden, Emerald, Aster, Chazz, Kris, Light, Alexis, and Jerome lounged in the Slifer cafeteria, bored to death.

"Happy Halloween," Jaden said half-heartedly. The rest muttered their replies. Shara leaned on him and yawned. Suddenly, however, Leslie perked up. The flickering light above her stopped flickering and shone normally.

"Hey, I have an idea!" The group lifted their heads to look at the witch. "I think there's an Ouija board lying around somewhere, why don't we use it?"

"What's an Ouija board?" Syrus, Emerald, and Light asked simultaneously.

"It's a message board where the living can contact spirits," Zane explained.

"No," Kris interrupted. The heads snapped towards her. "We shouldn't use it."

"Why not?" Aster asked. "It wounds like fun."

"My grandma said that it could let bad spirits into our world," the demon replied.

"M-maybe we shouldn't do it, then," Syrus suggested.

"No way," Alicia denied. "What are the chances we'll be haunted anyway? C'mon, we're bored."

"Show of hands for no," Leslie called. Syrus and Kris raised their hands.

"Outnumbered," Chazz taunted. Kris shoved him off of his seat.

"So," Jerome wondered out loud. "Where do we _get_ this Ouija board?" Light grinned.

"I think I know.

* * *

Light and Alicia visited Steve the monster to find an Ouija board. As it turns out, Steve had a glow-in-the-dark one in his stash of random junk. That same board glowed ominously and green in the center of the tight circle of creatures. Zane bewitched a pen to write any messages they might receive.

"Who's first?" Aster asked.

"Me!" Leslie begged. The rest agreed; she had thought of the idea, anyway. She stared at the board, unsure of where to start. "Um… are there any spirits present?"

The board was basically a keyboard, with the alphabet and punctuation marks. There was a piece that the spirits were supposed to move. It looked like a wide, blunt arrowhead with a large hole in it. The group held their breath, but it didn't budge.

"Lemme try," Light offered. "Are there any spirits here tonight?" They waited, but still nothing happened. Kris took a deep breath. Maybe it wouldn't work anyway.

"We've been gypped," Emerald groaned. Chazz sighed.

"Let me have a go," he said. The group grew dead silent. "Are any spirits present tonight under the harvest moon?" he inquired formally. The marker piece shivered before slowly moving to the Y.

"Holy crap," Shara breathed. Kris started to grow panicked.

"We need to get rid of it now!" she shrieked. The marker slid to the E. Jerome clamped a hand over her mouth. The creatures watched the piece move to the S.

"What does—" Chazz started again.

"Wait," Zane cut in. "Ask it it's good or bad." Chazz did as he was told. The Ouija board spelled out G-O-O-D.

"See?" Jaden pointed out to Kris. "It's good."

"It could be lying," she hissed through Jerome's fingers.

"Chazz, let me ask it something," Leslie pleaded. He nodded and she started up again. "…How do I practice my fortune telling without mentors?" Suddenly, a window flew open, and a brisk October wind rushed into the opening. The room was filled with the screams of its occupants. The lights started to go crazy, turning on and off in turn. In fright, Kris transformed into her wolf form and bolted out the door. The rest ducked under the tables or covered their head and neck with their hands.

The wind closed into a spiral/cyclone on the Ouija board. The marker piece went flying and crashed into a wall. The cyclone lifted the board up. It was still glowing, but now it was even brighter. Suddenly, the lights flashed off, and the only thing that could be seen was the board. Soon, it glowed too bright to look at. The occupants closed their eyes and turned away.

* * *

Chazz woke up only to realize that he had been knocked unconscious. The others were out cold too. Chazz squinted at the sudden daylight and crawled out from under the table. And then, he stopped.

There, in the center of the room, were nine figures, and only one of them was humanoid. The humanoid figure appeared to be male, with fluffy green hair, emerald eyes, a blue vest, and a lavender shirt. What was the creepiest was that he was translucent, as were the other seven. The others resembled animals, but were morphed in some way and had jewels on them somewhere. There was an eagle, a wooly mammoth, a small cat, a tiger, a winged unicorn, a tortoise, and a panther. There was also a brown puffball with green legs and white wings. **(A/N OMGCANYOUGUESSWHATTHEYAREYET) **Chazz facepalmed himself.

"Oh great." The green haired "boy" looked at him.

"Howdy!" he greeted. "Mah name's Jesse. You must be Chazz."

"Uh, yeah—why are you here?" Chazz demanded. Jesse raised his hands in defense.

"Relax, pardner, I was assigned to haunt you."

"Since when are spirits assigned?"

"Since the twenty-first century. We decided tuh do somethin' new this millennium," Jesse said in his southern accent. **(A/N I know he doesn't talk this way in Japan. But I first learned about him in English, so that's what he's gonna be. Don't like? Too bad. Just please ignore it if you don't like.)** "I'm assigned to haunt you," he repeated, "and mah buddies here are gonna haunt yer friends."

"I don't appreciate that," Chazz argued lazily. "Please go back to the spirit world."

"No thanks," Jesse laughed. "I haven' haunt'd anyone fer a while." Chazz facepalmed himself again and groaned. Jesse just continued to grin.

The vampire sat himself down and waited for the others to rouse themselves. When they did, most of them found a spirit hovering above them. Syrus shrieked at the tiger growling at him, and Alicia jumped when she noticed the panther looking her square in the face. Zane had a stare-down with the wooly mammoth, and Leslie smiled uncertainly at the Pegasus. The puffball zoomed around Jaden, and the kitten-like spirit pranced near Shara. Emerald looked extremely stressed out while the tortoise continued to talk to her. Light looked like her, only this time the eagle flapped around him.

"What the hell is going on?" Light demanded. Chazz just shook his head. Suddenly, the door was blasted open. Without them realizing it, a storm had brewed, and it was dark and raining heavily. (Dear lord, this is where the crackfic starts LOL) Lighting flashed, and an eerily familiar silhouette was briefly outlined. Bluish-silver eyes glinted creepily.

"Holy Hell, it's Kaiba," Alexis swore. She got a whack on the head from Jaden for such a sudden outburst. Indeed, though, it was Seto Kaiba, and he looked half-crazed.

"You guys," he started, a hint of panic in his voice, "you have to help me—there's guys coming at me with silver scissors!!!"

"Since when were you scared of scissors?" Shara asked, trying in vain to ignore the overly-hyper cat/alien/spirit thing bouncing around her head.

"Since I found out I'm a True-Born Vampire!" Kaiba snarled. He then spotted the numerous spirits lounging around the room. "Oh great, you used an Ouija board, didn't you."

"Maaaaaaaybe," Alicia said cautiously. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Shouldn't you know better than to use one?"

"How were we supposed to know!?" Aster defended. Kris poked her wolfen head around Kaiba's legs.

"She told me she warned you," Kaiba said, shrugging.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed into Chazz's head. The lights went out. Leslie giggled. "What?" Chazz asked.

"Well, when _I_ got an idea, a broken light bulb got fixed, but when _you_ did, it went out," she burst out laughing, and started rolling on the floor. Zane had a look on that said "I don't know this person."

Chazz ignored Leslie. "Kaiba, if you help us get rid of this malevolent spirits, we'll help you and your… um… chasers." Kaiba agreed, but said it would take about 24 hours.

* * *

The next day passed in high tension and bad tricks played on the spiritees. We're gonna follow a brief outline of Chazz's day, since he suffered the most.

On the way to class…

"Arewethereyetarewethereyetarewethereyetarewethere…"

"So Chazz, how's your day going?" asked a hopeful young selkie named Jessalee.

"Oh, so-so," Chazz replied. Jessalee couldn't see Jesse, as she was neither undead or at the Ouija game.

"…yetarewethereyetarewethereyetarewethereyet…"

"That's good," Jessalee replied. "Hey, you know there's another dance coming up? This has got to be the most dances DA has hosted _ever_!" she squealed. She looked sideways at Chazz, and he knew she wanted to go with him.

"…arewethereyet—"

"SHUT UP JESSE!" Chazz cried. Jessalee suddenly clammed up, spun on her heels, and ran. Chazz sighed and let her go. He wasn't that interested in her anyway.

So when he reached class, and went to sit down, Jesse pulled his seat away, causing him to fall on his butt. Somehow managing to keep a straight face – despite the class' hysterical laughing – he climbed into his seat. When Dr. Crowler left the room, Jesse went up to the chalkboard and started writing on it. Chazz put his face in his hands and just moaned.

When Crowler came back, this was on the board: _PRINCETON WUZ HERE!!!! MRS. CROWLER LOOKS PRETTY IN HIS/HER PURPLE LIPSTICK, LONG BLONDE PONYTAIL, AND PINK FRILLS DONNING HIS/HER BLUE COAT!!!!_ Crowler, of course, immediately gave Chazz a detention.

During Gym class, Jesse forced Chazz to trip many times over, one time even causing his wrist to snap. While it was healed immediately, he did not enjoy the pain, and Ms. Fontaine gave him a strange look. He became flustered when he tried to explain to her that he was temporarily being haunted.

In Alchemy, Jesse "accidentally" tipped a glass vial full of a liquid into the potion Chazz and his partner, Kris, were concocting when his elbow went near it. This caused the potion to explode, and ashes covered both Kris' and Chazz's face. Jesse had disappeared when Kris turned around, so she did not see him, and ignored the vampire's attempt to blame the spirit.

These were only the biggest things Jesse did to torment poor Chazz. The vampire was at his wits ends by the end of the day. Finally, however, and on Halloween night, Kaiba called him to tell him the cure was ready. Chazz, excited, whipped out his wings and flew to the Slifer dorm.

There, he was surprised to see two large circles with the Ouija board from last night between them. He looked curiously at Kaiba. Even with his speed, he was the last one to arrive.

"It took us a while to find the actual cure," Kaiba explained. By "us," he meant he, Kris, and Professor Banner on their free time. "And then we had to find the board, draw up the circles, and find the spell we are to chant." Chazz only nodded.

"What do we do?" he asked.

"Stand in that circle—no, that one," Kaiba said, pointing to the correct one. It was lavishly decorated, and ancient writing was spread about it. As soon as Chazz stepped into the circle, sparks flew and Jesse found himself in the other.

"What in tarnation—?" Jesse exclaimed. The others followed suit, even Kris, Kaiba, and those without spirits. Alicia looked indifferent about losing her spirit, Leslie looked sadly at hers, Zane kept a stoic face, Light glared at the eagle, Shara looked relieved, Jaden looked forlorn, and Syrus couldn't be happier. Both of them had had difficult days, but since this is somewhat of a oneshot, there was no time for their stories.

"Okay," Kaiba said. "These circles are going to purify our haunted souls, banish the spirits, and bury the board for us."

"Bury the board?" Leslie wondered.

"Well, we can't leave the circle until it's done," the elder vampire replied. "Repeat after me: _Filliolus, defaeco nos!_"

"_Filliolys, defaieco nos!_"

"_Nos have no a inconcessus errores_."

"_Nos have no a inconcessus errores._"

"_Quod hic paeniteo!_"

"_Quod hic paeniteo!_"

"_Defaeco, quod tego texi tectum is tabula._"

"_Defaeco, quod tego texi tectum is tabula._"

"_Quod bansish illa phasmatis! Amen._"

"_Quod bansish illa phasmatis! Amen._"

With each line of the Latin spell, sparks flew. Spirits and creatures alike flinched and cowered. Towards the end of the spell, shooting pain rushed through the creatures, and the spirits howled. There was an explosion, a mushroom cloud, and a spray of dirt that coated the group arose, and the spell was done.

"What it mean, anyway?" Syrus asked, curious.

"Gods, purify us!  
We have made a forbidden mistake,  
and hereby repent!  
Purify,  
and bury this board,  
and bansish these spirits!  
Amen," Kaiba translated. "Apparently, in one of my past lives, I was in Rome."

The group laughed, and got right down to business. "Okay, so who's hunting you?" Zane asked.

"I'll make that reeeeeal easy for yah!" came a voice. Out shot two people of about 15 years. One was tan and buff, with an Egyptian look. The other was Australian, with a crocodile at his feet and a large hat. They were the vampire hunters, Axel and Jim!

"Them!" cried Kaiba, narrowly dodging a silver arrow shot from Axel's crossbow. Jim ran forward with a silver sword, attempting to skewer Kaiba, but Chazz cut in a grabbed the sword. While silver harmed True-Borns at touch, it did little damage to Air-Vamps. Chazz twisted it out of Jim's grip and thrust the handle into his gut.

Shara, Kris, and Alicia reverted to their cat forms and teamed up against Shirley, the croc. Leslie and Zane attacked from afar, with numerous spells. The Stunning Spell hit Jim, and he was Stunned immediately.

"Nice shot, Zane!" Leslie complimented. Zane nodded, and continued to shoot spells as reinforcements arrived, which included Tea, Tristan, Yami Yugi, Bakura, and Joey. Tristan was holding scissors, and Tea had grabbed her mom's old silver letter opener.

Alexis tackled Tea, and they continued to fight. Light reverted to his dragon form and toasted the unsuspecting hunters. Jerome suddenly leaped onto the scene in werewolf form, and took pleasure in ripping throats out. Suddenly, Kaiba's eyes flashed pure silver.

"_Stige, Jorden!_" he cried, which was Norwegian for "Rise, the Earth!" The ground shook, and with a huge upswing of Kaiba's arms, the ground cracked, and threw the hunters that were still alive to the depths of the ocean before the land closed again.

Everyone stopped at stared at Kaiba. "Well, that took care of that. Happy Halloween!" he cackled before disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

* * *

**Thanks for reading lol, Have a safe and happy Halloween! Yeah, I know it's not good.**

* * *


	19. Saving Privet Kris

**Sorry I took so long. I was getting these little… Oh, enough with excuses! ON TO THE LONG AWAITED STORY!!!**

* * *

The inside of the door was a massive chasm. There were unlit torches along the stone walls, and the hall was wide enough for one and a half persons. Which meant single file. Both of the magic people – Zane and Leslie – were wiped out from the dark magic. So Light grabbed a couple torches off of the walls and breathed fire on them. He gave one to Chazz, Emerald, Alicia, Leslie, Jerome, Shara, and kept one for himself.

"I'll go on ahead," Chazz said. "Rescuing Kris is our top priority."

"Alright," Leslie answered for the rest of the group. Chazz turned and sped down the hall, faster than any of them, and they watched the bobbing flame from his torch disappear into the thick darkness.

"Alicia… I'm scared," Syrus whimpered. Alicia looked behind her at the adorable little guy, and smiled sweetly.

"Aw, c'mon, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you!" She reached behind her and Syrus took her hand. Despite both of them being small, (Alicia: HEY!) they could not walk side by side. So Syrus stayed a little behind her, and it seemed to work out nicely.

Alexis stayed close by Light, too. She wasn't as scared as Syrus, or if she was, she hid it well, but she still wanted to be close to him. She could almost feel the heat radiating off of his skin. Emerald walked confidently, her hand clutching the torch tightly, and the other clenched into a fist. Aster walked behind her, looking up every so often as if he thought he could see the ceiling soon. Jerome took up the rear, walking behind Jaden who was walking behind Shara. Shara was not as confident as Emerald, and held Jaden's hand, but she wasn't going to be a scaredy-cat. Leslie and Zane led the entire procession.

* * *

"Why do you want me." The question was more of a demand, coming from Kris. Her lifepoints were almost zero, and she was really feeling it now. Nightshroud had his lifepoints fairly low, too – less than half – but still more than hers.

Nightshroud laughed. "What my master wants is of no concern to you."

Kris crossed her arms. It might be hard, but maybe she could stall until help arrives, and then she wouldn't lose her soul. "That's not the first time you've mentioned your master. Who is he? And I believe that since I seem to be a sacrifice, or something, I think this is totally my concern."

"My, my, an inquisitive one we have _here,_ eh?" Nightshroud commented. From in the shadows beyond Kris's range of sight, chattering laughter that sounded like bones shivered their way out of the dark. "Well, I suppose you have a right to know."

"Grrrreeeaaattt."

"I am part of a group known as Shadow Fiends. It is a small and very selective and very secretive group. We all have the same master, though we do not know who each other is. I do not even know how many others there are. I was lucky to be picked, I was given power beyond my capabilities and imagination."

"Wait, pause for a sec," Kris said. She pondered over what he just said. "So, you weren't always Nightshroud, were you?"

"That does not matter anymore!" Nightshroud said harshly. "Who I once was, is not who I am now."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Who I am now is much greater, much more powerful, and—"

"Much more evil, yeah, okay. Now who's this master person, and why am I here?"

"I cannot tell you who my master is. To do so, it's unthinkable! All I shall tell you on that matter is that he is great, greater than me and my colleagues to come, and his power is like none you've ever seen. But his power is not strong enough yet to take over that world!"

Suddenly, Kris started to laugh. Nightshroud frowned, and waited for her to explain.

"Haha! I-I'm sorry, he wants to _take over the world?_ That is like, the most cliché evil scheme ever. He doesn't want to wipe out all of mankind? Flood the oceans? You know, evil stuff?" Nightshroud growled.

"You little…" He took a deep breath. "There is nothing greater than to be world ruler! And when he does that, I, his loyal servant, shall receive a high ranking position and I will be granted whatever I wish!" Nightshroud was shouting maniacally, his voice booming and echoing around the stone room.

_Someone__'s bound to hear that_, thought Kris. _Please!_

* * *

"…_WHATEVER I WISH!_"

Chazz stopped abruptly. Ahead of him, the sound had come suddenly. He looked up at the seemingly endless height of the walls. "Hmm…"

Taking a running start, he leaped up, twisted onto his side, and unfurled his wings. He sped through the hall so fast that the torch blew out, and he was left in the utter darkness. But not for long. He could see a circle of dim light ahead, and in it… Kris!

He came to a silent stop, curling his wings back into himself. His heart was pounding. He closed his eyes and listened to the harsh beating, the beating that was extraordinary in a vampire. He snapped his eyes open, and they were glowing bright scarlet. He raised his left arm, and kept his eyes on Nightshroud. Chazz picked up his right hand and bent his elbow. It looked like he was about to pull the string back on a longbow.

"BLOODY ARROW!" He roared. A bright red light shot out of his hand, forming a bow shape. He grabbed the air and drew his right arm back, and let the air go.

* * *

"BLOODY ARROW!" The all too familiar voice rang throughout the little room Kris was in. Suddenly, a bright beam of light shot and knocked a surprised Nightshroud aside. Four more lights shot Kris's chains, and they broke instantly, the shackles falling off her wrists and ankles immediately.

Kris looked to where the lights had come from, and her heart leaped. It was that vampire! Chazz! In a damp dark cave, a good vampire could only mean good news. Nightshroud stood up, the blue eyes of his mask glowing the same red as Chazz's own. "Why you…" He couldn't find the right words to express his anger. Instead, he snapped his fingers, and the disembodied laughter from before rang throughout the room again.

Chazz found himself surrounded by skeletons holding weapons made of fire.

"Go, my slaves!" Nightshroud ordered. "Destroy the offender!" Immediately, the skeletons lurched towards Chazz, who jumped up and once again unfurled his wings. A few of them had spears, and they threw them at the vampire, who nimbly dodged them. He couldn't catch them, because they were fire, and fire was probably an Air-Vamp's worst enemy. He shot a couple "Bloody Arrows" at the skeletons, and the ones his hit exploded into dust.

Kris transformed and leaped into the fray. Nightshroud shouted, "NO!" She froze a couple when they swarmed her, their weapons dissolving, and the rest she leaped at with her teeth, ripping their surprisingly brittle bones apart.

With perfect timing, two cats jumped on the heads of two unfortunate skeletons, who fell to the ground beheaded. This was followed by two lit torches being chucked at the boney heads. Chazz kicked a skeleton and glanced at the entrance to the room. Jaden, Zane, Leslie, Light, Alexis, Jerome – who had transformed and joined the fight eagerly – Syrus, Emerald, and Aster were in the doorway for a brief moment before also joining the fight. Despite being worn out, Leslie and Zane whipped out spells left and right. Jaden and Aster were using torches like a baseball bat, and Light was kicking, punching, and lighting those boney bastards of FIRE!

Emerald stayed near the edge. Her eyes were glowing, and vines grew out of the ground and crushed many skeletons. She was dancing about, waving her arms every which way to control the vines.

Soon, all of the skeletons were dust on the ground. Nightshroud looked murderous, and he formed fire in his hand. Chazz landed to join his group of friends.

"YOU DIE NOW!" Nightshroud roared. He chucked the fireball at Chazz. He couldn't do anything but shield his face with his arms. But when he looked again, there was a very unconscious and unmasked Nightshroud on the ground smoking slightly.

"Wow, Syrus, I didn't know you could do that," Alicia commented, holding a tired miniature Syrus in her hands. His glasses were gone, and he had a pair of powdery blue butterfly wings on his back. He grinned sheepishly up at Alicia.

"Being a fairy-boy is embarrassing, but I suppose it has its pluses."

Just then, Alexis let out a sob. "What is it?" Zane asked kindly. She was over by Nightshrouds body, cradling his head.

"Z-Zane, i-it's… _Atticus!_"

* * *

**The words Chazz spoke in the weird language meant something along the lines of:**

"_**You all shall persish! You all cannot win! Hell will succeed!"**_

**But I can't remember the exact translation. Hehehe…**

**Hope you enjoyed. This is you New Year's Gift!!!**


	20. What a Childish Villain

**I got two encyclopedias for Christmas. Not the normal kind. One on spells, and one on Magical Creatures. Since I've introduced the Shadow Fiends, I'm so happy that I have an excuse to just READ through it all!!! :3**

* * *

"Atticus?" Zane was stunned. His own childhood friend had tried to kill them all. But of course, he reminded himself, he was under evil control. He kneeled next to Alexis to get a good look at Nightshroud's real face. It was a little scratched up, but it was Atticus. His eyes were closed, and it appeared to Zane that he was sleeping peacefully, his chest rising up and down in a smooth, slow rhythm. The mask lay a few feet away.

Alicia and Shara returned to their human forms, and the rest donned their Items again also. Syrus crept forward and picked up the mask.

"So this was what created Nightshroud, huh?" he said flatly. Neither Zane nor Alexis spoke.

"Uh… not trying to ruin the mood or anything…" Kris started. "But who's Atticus?"

"Alexis's brother," Syrus answered, since the wizard and the mermaid were silent, "and Zane's best friend."

"Oh," said Jaden flatly.

"We should get him to the hospital wing, Zane," Leslie said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He nodded numbly. He stood up, took the mask away from Syrus, and turned to the rest of the group.

"I'm going to take care of this mask. Please get Atticus safely to Ms. Fontaine," he ordered. They nodded silently as Zane apparated out of there.

"I'll carry him," Chazz offered. No one made any opposing arguments, so he scooped Atticus up and started to walk out of there. He stopped at the exit and looked back. "You coming or what?"

They all crowded around the white, crisp bed, in the pale room with the sterilized floors and walls and everything. In the bed lay Atticus, still unconscious for the third day already. Oxygen tubes supplied the necessary molecules to him, possibly to help him wake. Ms. Fontaine had said that he needed no special healing, that he will be able to wake up on his own.

"God, I hope he'll wake up soon!" Alicia said loudly, breaking the heavy silence. "He's been asleep for long enough."

"It looks like he's missing an Item too," Emerald observed. "Did they take it from him?"

Zane glanced at her. "I suppose. He's one of those who really need it to control more than to hide, like you, Chazz, or Kris, even." Shara clasped her hands together with an unnecessary clap.

"Weeelllllllllll, this is boring, I have to admit," she commented. "I'm going out for a walk.

"I'll join you," said Jaden, Syrus, Alicia, Emerald, and Aster at the same time. Shara giggled, grabbed Jaden's hand, and pranced out of there.

Jerome just sighed and looked out of the window. "It'll be full moon tonight," he said to Chazz and Zane. "I suggest you get a patrol going, or something." Zane wished to say, but he had to admit the werewolf was right. He stood up, pushing his chair back with a scraping sound, and turned to Chazz, Light, and Kris.

"I want you three to join me. No Day Class students are to be roaming, and any Night Class students are supposed to be under watch. Full moon can be a dangerous time. It hasn't so far, but we take no chances." They nodded. Chazz leaped out of the window (opening it first), followed by Light after a few seconds of staring at Atticus. Kris went wolf and raced out of the door. "Leslie, do you want to come, too?" Zane asked.

"Why not?" she sighed. "Anything to get out of this depressing room."

Jerome stayed silent after that. Alexis didn't even look up from her brother's face. "Oh Atticus," she whispered. "Where have you been exactly? What have they done to you?"

* * *

Kris paused and sniffed the ground. She was near the lake, and she smelled something quite peculiar. It had a somewhat sour scent, of dust and some sickly sweet flower. The closer she got to the lake, the stronger the scent got. Chazz soon joined her.

"Do you smell that, too?" he asked her. She shot him a sideways glance, and he grinned at her teasingly. "I know, sheesh." He glanced around before focusing his eyes at the center of the lake. Kris looked at what he was staring at. There, in the middle of the lake, was a cave that had opened up. They both could hear some kind of slithering inside, like a snake.

Alicia and Shara appeared behind them, dragging the rest of the "walking" group. They had smelt it with their Neko noses, and came to investigate. "Woo, what is that _stench!?_" Shara exclaimed, letting go of Jaden to plug her nose.

"I'm not sure," Chazz said. "Go get Light, Leslie, and Zane. We'll need them."

"Alright, I'll do it," said Alicia, turning into a Neko again. "Syrus come with me!" she ordered, before running off into the forest. Syrus sighed and ran after her before changing into a fairy out of sight. Soon enough, they reappeared with the required people.

"What's with all these caves?" Light laughed. Leslie smacked him. "Ow…"

Suddenly, a figure leaped into the lake, and just when it got the group's attention, a fin that shone silver in the moonlight disappeared under the water. "Ah crud," Light muttered. Before anyone could guess at what he was talking about, he ran forward and dove into the lake also.

"I thought he couldn't swim," came a voice. It was Jerome. He walked to the edge of the lake, his wolfish eyes gleaming in the moon and his tail swishing jerkily and slowly. He was transformed! And he watched calmly as Light struggled to keep his head above water and to get to the cave.

Chazz sighed. "I'll get him…" But before he could move, they watched in horror as Light's head vanished. It looked as if something had pulled him under.

"Oh no!" Shara squealed, looking at the ripples. "We have to do something." Two splashes announced that Chazz and Jerome had jumped in. "… Okay, we're doing something…"

"You know, if it's alright with you guys, I'll stay on shore for now…" Kris said, now in human form.

"What, are you hydrophobic or something?" Alicia shot.

"No, I just don't like being wet."

"Same!" Shara said. "You boys go ahead, I'll stay here with Kris…"

"Now that you think about it…" Alicia trailed, and sat down. The other two girls sat down next to her. Leslie shook her head.

"Fine, Emerald and I'll be the only girls there then. Let's go quickly, Zane." Leslie held hands with Zane and they both jumped in the water. Syrus stayed on land, but Jaden and Aster ("There goes my suit") followed.

"Should we have gone, or…" Syrus started.

"Nah, I deserve a break," Alicia said, lying down to stare up at the moon.

"Me too," said Shara.

"Me three," sighed Kris.

* * *

Something had grabbed Light's leg, something scaly. It pulled him under, and he swallowed a mouthful of lake water. His lungs started to burn already, but the surface just grew farther away by the second. Finally, from lack of oxygen, he blissfully fell into unconsciousness.

When he woke up, he was still drenched, but he was in a damp, dark cave. It wasn't a castle, but it was decorated lavishly like one. Behind him was a large hole filled with water, which was where he probably came up from. Sitting up and looking around, he noticed both a large bed with a canopy and a nest assembled with various soft things.

"You're awake!" A girl about his age skipped out of a nearby adjoining tunnel. "This is my bedroom! Tee hee! It's a little dark and damp, but spacey." She had bright green eyes to rival Emerald's, and long black hair with bangs. She wore a red turtleneck with a white cross on it and a short black skirt with black thigh-high stockings and black flats. (NOTE! If you search on Photobucket dot com for "green eyed anime girl" it's the last one.)

"Who're you?" Light asked.

"Tee hee!" the girl giggled. "You're a cute one, you are. But not my type. I'm Sybil!!! Tee hee!"

"I'm not you're type?" Light asked. "What does that mean?"

"That I'll have to kill you, tee hee!" she said with as nicely as one would say "I want to play with you, silly (Tee hee)!" Light's eyes widened. Sybil giggled again when she saw his look. "Oh, but not yet. The others shall come, the young men! Tee hee! And then your doom shall come! Tee hee!"

Light stood up. "Not on my watch!" He put a hand on his Item to rip it off, but Sybil threw something at him. It was a collar, and it clasped onto his neck. "Wha~? What's this?"

"Tee hee! If you try anything naughty, you'll get a shock!" Sybil explained cheerfully. Light was starting to get annoyed by her giggles. And she was probably fifteen like him. He tried once again to take off his Item, but this time the collar activated and he was given the shock of his life. "I warned you, didn't I? Tee hee!"

Light grumbled and shivered. Sybil ignored this. "The others have probably arrived at the front door by now, tee hee! I should go meet and greet them! Later, gator! Tee hee!" She skipped out of the room down another tunnel. Light sighed. What a childish villain.

* * *

Chazz and Jerome arrived at the entrance first. Jerome was still transformed, and Chazz glanced around at the looming darkness. A pair of bright green eyes shown out of it before the owner showed the rest of her.

"Tee hee! My, my, what marvelous men have come here!" she giggled. She bowed to Jerome. "I'm Sybil, young love." Jerome looked at her strangely. "Tee hee!" Chazz's eyes narrowed, untrusting. Sybil straightened up and grinned at Jerome. "You are totally my type, young love!"

"Huh?" Jerome said slowly. She giggled again. Emerald, Leslie, Zane, Aster, and Jaden had caught up to the werewolf and vampire.

"Tee hee! Your friends have arrived! My, what adorable males you've brought me! Tee hee!" She skipped over to Aster, who stood stock still, watching her. She examined him, at one point picking up a strand of his silver hair before he hit her hand away. "What unusual hair! Tee hee, I like it!"

"Who do you think you are?" Emerald fumed. "That's my boyfriend!" Sybil's eyes flashed once.

"Your boyfriend, huh?" he voice had gone sharp and murderous, echoing throughout the cave. "Your boyfriend? _I_ had a boyfriend once. He left me broken!" The childish cheerfulness in her voice had completely vanished.

"Did I say something wrong?" Emerald whispered to Leslie, who shrugged.

Sybil's eyes glowed. Her hateful being transformed, and they had to look away from the green light. Her legs extended, melding together. When they looked back, her lower body was that of a large, green, snake's.

Zane was horrified. "She's a… _Lamia._"

* * *

**I suppose I can count this as one of Jerome's chapters. Is that alright with you, Delinquent Duo, or whatever you're called now? I don't really think anyone cares, but just in case. **

**Cheers!**


	21. Glass Rose

***Bows to Duo-san* Arigato! Erm, however they do it…**

**I've almost completely taken out dueling from this. Fighting is so much better, with less research, and more action. And by the way, most of the creatures, I'm giving more powers than the encyclopedia identifies. Only powers that fit, though…**

* * *

"A-a Lamia?" Leslie asked slowly. Sybil hissed, a forked tongue slithering out of her open mouth that showed her long, venomous fangs. Chazz bared his own, warningly.

"A Lamia is a loathing creature, half snake and half women, but with the ability to appear as a full human," Zane explained quickly, not taking his eyes off of Sybil. No one was moving. "She could have some hidden power, though… I'm not that educated on the Lamia."

Suddenly, Jerome bent his knees, then leaped at the Lamia. She twisted out of the way, and he pushed off of the opposite wall. This time, he landed on her back.

"Dalton, NO!" Chazz cried. Sybil shrieked, and they were all forced to cover their ears. Jerome dug his nails into her shoulders, drawing blood and staining her shirt darkly. She grabbed his arms and threw him over her shoulder. He slammed into the ground on his back with a moan of quick pain. He quickly leaped up, however, only to be grabbed by Sybil around the waist and hoisted up.

As the others made moves to rescue Jerome, she screamed again, forcing them to stop once more. She slid quickly down the tunnel, fading into the darkness.

* * *

Light was on the ground. He didn't dare go onto the bed, or… the nest… but he was tired of sitting or standing, so he resorted to lying on the cold floor. His back was to the pool behind him.

He heard a splash behind him, but he ignored it until a wet hand was placed on his arm. Only then did he look up at whoever was there.

"Light!?" It was Alexis!

"A-Alexis" Light stammered. "What're you doing here?"

"Trying to find some answers concerning my brother," she answered. "What's on your neck?"

"Oh, this?" Light pointed to his collar. "That Sybil person put it on me. I can't do much of anything without receiving a shock." Alexis looked horrified.

"S-Sybil?"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"Atticus mentioned a Sybil. She's the only other Shadow Fiend he knew and could remember from–"

"Wait, Atticus woke up!?"

"Well, only for a few minutes. That's when I saw the cave in the lake and wanted to investigate…" Alexis hesitated, then put her palm to the ground. "Do you feel that? Vibrations…" Suddenly, Jerome was thrown out of the darkness and onto the hard ground, rolling for a bit before stopping.

"Dalton!" Light cried. He stood up and started to move over to the werewolf. But before he could get there, the Lamia, who he recognized immediately as Sybil, lunges forward and knocked Light aside easily. Light slammed into the wall and slipped to the ground, knocked out.

"Light!" Alexis shouted out. The Lamia turned towards her, hissing. Alexis quickly put on her Item. Her legs weren't completely dry yet, but dry enough for her legs to split and her feet to form. She stood up and jumped just in time to dodge Sybil's tail swipe.

Jerome wasn't unconscious; he just pretended to be for a while. He lifted his head tentatively, saw that Sybil was busy, and started crawling towards the nest. When he was thrown, he had seen something glitter, and he thought it might be something important. He was crawling army style, on his elbows, as low to the ground as possible.

Alexis dove towards Light as the Lamia swung her tail downwards. Sybil swung down low in an attempt to slash at Alexis with long nails, but missed.

The nest was in a little dent in the ground. There, in the center, on a pedestal, was a single glass rose. Sybil finally noticed Jerome and screamed.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THAT ROSE!" she screeched. She slithered to him, grabbed his shoulder and threw him away from the nest. Jerome slid a few feet before using the momentum to flip back onto his feet. But before he could try again for the rose, Sybil coiled around him, squeezing tighter and tighter. Jerome shouted in surprise, and struggled to get free.

"Hey, what's the big deal with this rose, here?" a voice echoed. All conscious heads turned back towards the nest. Aster Phoenix, standing in front of the nest, holding the rose by its stem between his fingers! "Oh, and if you're wondering why I'm here, we split up because there were so many tunnels… Whoops." Aster let the rose slip out of his hands, most likely on purpose.

Sybil had a look of horror on her face. As if in slow motion, the rose fell to the ground and shattered. "AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Sybil let out a screech louder than ever and clutched her head with her hands. Jerome dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way. The entire cave shook, and portals started opening up. The portals were dark purple and black swirling vortexes. They appeared all around the walls and ceilings, and the rest of the group that ventured into the cave actually _dropped_ out of them!

"Wh-What's going on!?" Leslie cried. The Lamia once again was enveloped in a bright light, but this time it was pure gold. It grew brighter and brighter, filling the entire cave. Light's collar even disappeared. Everyone screamed, and felt the sense of weightlessness.

* * *

Kris sat up suddenly.

"What's up, Kris?" Shara asked, sitting up also. Alicia and Syrus had fallen asleep.

"I thought I heard something," the wolf replied. "Did you hear it too?"

"Hmm…" Shara thought a bit. "Yeah, I think I did. Kind of like a screech, right?" Kris nodded, and they both looked out towards the cave. He started to shake, sending waves outward. They girls woke Alicia and Syrus up and backed away from the water's edge. The little bit of cave that was sticking out of the water suddenly dropped as if in sky instead of H2O, a giant gold orb lifted out of the spot where the cave vanished just before the water filled the gap. The orb sped towards the girls (and Syrus) and landed in the shallows of the lake.

Syrus gasped. "Zane! Everyone's back!" he exclaimed.

"Holy guacamole, you're right," Shara said, squinting into the fading light. "But who's that girl?" In front of the group, Sybil, in her human form now, wobbled and fell backwards into, ironically, Jerome. He caught her, and they all tramped out of the knee-deep water.

"What the hell happened?" Kris demanded.

"Long story," Jerome said, shoving Sybil at Chazz. "Let's tell it when we're not all soaking."

"Amen," Emerald laughed. "If one thing's for sure, though, I don't think Sybil here was originally a Lamia, or whatever."

"What makes you think that?" Chazz asked, now carrying Sybil bridal-style, as that was easiest.

"I dunno," Emerald replied. "Girl's intuition."

"Yeah, she never seemed like a Lamia to me, too," Leslie added.

"That's 'cause I'm not."

"Eh!?" They all looked at Sybil now, who had opened her eyes blearily.

"I'm not a Lamia. I'm actually a Lama. I was given that strange glass rose the silver-haired boy dropped… That was right after my love left for an over-seas trip and got caught in a storm. I was angry at him for leaving, and I left the safety of the haven for a little while. This shadowy figure said he sympathized with me, and he offered me the rose. I was touched, and it was beautiful too, but when I held it, my hate just amplified." Her eyes moved to Jerome. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, or any of you."

Jerome shrugged. "'S'all right. You weren't you." Sybil smiled faintly, and looked up and Chazz.

"Young Vampire, if you don't mind, I'm really tired, and I'd prefer a bed to your arms."

"Eh heh heh heh…" Chazz grinned sheepishly. Leslie stretched and leaned on Zane.

"I'm tired too. Trekking through caves really takes it out of ya." Zane smiled and put a hand on her head.

* * *

**-sighs- that was more difficult to write than it should have been. Well, for those who don't know, a Lama is a protective deity in Sumerian mythology. They're depicted like nymphs: Beautiful and helping. Of course, they served the gods, and in this story, they'll be a little different…**

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed it! 'Specially you, Duo-san!**


	22. Celtic Knots and Irish Castles

**Phew! All the characters' chapters are OVAH! Now the plot can move a tad bit more than it used to… I suppose… Eh, what the heck, I'll just write the thingy…**

* * *

Sybil recovered much quicker than Atticus, who was only shifting a little, but still unconscious. She was back to her normal self, with her tee hees, and her blissful cheerfulness. She wasn't exactly lying, what she said to Jerome (besides the kill part), but she never told anyone. All they know is that she's much friendlier, if possible, to Jerome than to everyone else.

Of course, Jerome also still likes Shara. Sybil isn't the one to change something like that. She's the kind to help, if it means someone will be happy. And that's her reason for staying until the Shadow Fiends are taken care of.

"I don't remember much," she said, talking to all of them in Atticus's hospital room. "However, at some point I picked up that all of the Fiends were originally benevolent or even malign creatures. Like Atticus!"

"Do you know what Atticus's creature is?" Shara asked since Zane and Alexis weren't there, unfortunately.

Sybil nodded slowly after thinking for a moment. "I think so. If I remember correctly, he's a Lyre bird!"

"A lyre bird?" Alicia repeated. "I thought they actually existed, though, in Australia."

"But Alicia," Syrus put in, "you're a cat, and you're here."

"_Neko_," she corrected tartly. Syrus grinned childishly, knowing he had won.

"So what kind of stuff can he do?" Leslie asked. "Being a Lyre bird, 'n' all."

"Ancient mythology states that the Lyre bird was the one who communicated with all the animals after the dispute in which the animals were discussing who they can and cannot mate with," Sybil explained. "I would guess that, among his _dashing_ looks, he can understand all of the animals."

"Makes sense," Jaden said, shrugging. He looked over at Atticus's apparently sleeping face. "I wonder when he's gonna wake up…"

"Don't we all…" Sybil sighed.

* * *

Zane and Alexis weren't just missing because they felt like it. They were in the library, trying to find any mention of "Shadow Fiends" with no luck. Zane hit the books, and Alexis took to the computers, so they could look at new and old sources.

"Nada!" Zane cried, exasperated. "I can't find anything! It's like they were never heard of before!"

Alexis was equally as exhausted. "I know. Even the little unknown musical groups have a webpage!" Something clicked in Zane's brain then.

"Maybe we aren't looking for the right thing," he commented. He moved over to Alexis's computer. "Here, try these keywords in the search engine…"

* * *

Shara collapsed onto the couch in the waiting room. Ms. Fontaine had come in and warned them that some of them should leave the hospital room because too many were in there at once. She, Jerome, Alicia, and Syrus had left. Jaden and Leslie had kept Sybil with them, for chances to inquire her more about her time as a Fiend. Thus, Shara became bored to the extent that she'd do anything to get out of it. Including…

"Hey, why don't we go to the library!?" she suggested. Alicia looked up and over at her.

"Aren't Zane and Alexis over there trying to research the Shadow Fiends?" she pointed out. Shara grinned determinedly and grasped the air with her fist.

"Yes! Alright, why don't we all go over there and try to help them???" Alicia shrugged and didn't reply.

"Well, I don't see what's so bad about that," Jerome put in. "I'll join you," he said, standing up. Shara jumped up from her spot eagerly.

"Let's go!" she giggled, racing out of the room. Jerome started running after her.

"Hey Alicia," Syrus pondered out loud once the two creatures were gone. "Where's Chazz and Kris?"

"Dunno," Alicia replied, bored.

As Alicia implied they would, Shara and Jerome found Zane and Alexis in the library. However, they were staring transfixed at a webpage with a black background and red text, so the two creatures didn't bother them. Instead they crept to the back of the library. Shara ran her fingers along the spins of the books. The books back there were old and dusty from wear and tear… or maybe from the lack thereof.

They were very surprised to see a book open on a table as old as the leather-bound legends themselves. And yet, no one was around. Intrigued, Jerome picked it up and started reading it. On the front cover was the picture of a three-pointed Celtic knot with a circle going through it.

"What a strange book," Jerome commented to Shara. The Neko moved over to him and, since he was too tall to look over his shoulder, looked over his arm. "The Landvaettir then danced around me as I sheathed my sword. They were happy that I had defeated the malevolent demons…" the werewolf read. "It's weird, it's like a history book, and a story at the same time."

Shara continued the reading. "They led me to a princess with long, flowing black hair and emerald green eyes within the Castle. 'Is this the hero?' she asked them. The Landvaettir said nothing, but bowed away, leaving me in the same vicinity of the beautiful elven spirit––" Shara was forced to stop, for the book started glowing. It started soft, then elevated quickly to blinding, enveloping both the cat and the… er… canine. They screamed, but no one heard them as they vanished and the book fell to the ground.

They really need to make the library smaller.

* * *

"This is amazing!" Alexis gasped. "Zane, you totally rock." Remember that black webpage they were looking at? Well, as it turned out, it was a cult webpage for the Shadow Fiends. _Was_ a cult webpage. It was used to recruit malevolent beings to an exclusive group called the Shadow Riders. However, the name wasn't catchy enough, and most malevolent spirits liked to do things on their own. So, the name was changed, and the webpage modified its message to say "Do you want to defeat the Shadow Fiends!?" And that's how the guy behind all this found out about those poor seven souls.

"I actually didn't think it would work that easy," Zane admitted. "With this website, he (or she or it) can track down people to join his/her/its nasty little group, but not without a little hypnosis."

"We should tell Jaden and the others," Alexis said, reaching for her cell phone. Zane stopped her.

"Hold on," he said suspiciously, looking back towards the other end of the library, where all the old and unused books were kept. "Something doesn't feel right."

* * *

Jerome and Shara found themselves falling endlessly down a gold and green portal. It made Shara dizzy, with all the trippy spiraling the colors were doing. A load of black zoomed up and swallowed them, and then they fell on something bouncy and scratchy like hay.

As it turned out, they _did_ land on hay. A lot of it. Jerome struggled out of the haystack, then turned to help Shara out. Picking hay off of they clothes and out of their hair, they got a good look at their surroundings.

It was dark, but the full moon up above illuminated the area fantastically brightly. It was a wide flat grassy plain with scattered leafless trees. The air was chill, like late fall or really early spring. A stone-paved road in front of them wound its way up to a large castle painted black by the night. A single candle was flickering in a first floor window.

As Jerome rubbed his head, Shara's cat's eyes picked out the light easily. "Look!" she said a little too loudly. "There's a candle in the castle over there!"

"I don't see it," Jerome said, squinting. Shara sighed.

"I guess dogs' strength comes in his nose. Ah well, I see it at least, and that's all that matters. Let's go over there and see if we can find out where we are." Shara just realized something. "Wait, Jerome, it's night, and it's a full moon…"

"Grrrrr……."

"Right. Gotta run!" Shara transformed into a cat and sped off with a werewolf on her heels.

* * *

A spider dangled in front of Jaden's face. The human watched it for a bit, watching it wriggle as it spun web from its thorax. Thorax? Is that even the right body part? Jaden finally got bored of it and clapped his hands around it to squish it. (Me: TAKE THAT, SPIDERS!!!!!!) He discreetly wiped his hands on his pants, and returned his attention to the conversation.

"I could try a protection spell," Sybil was saying, "but I have no guarantees my spells will do anything. Besides, most of them are for the spell caster, but I could try…"

"Yes?" Leslie asked impatiently.

"I could try this one protection spell, but it involves either a red string or a silver chain, and a naturally Holed Stone," Sybil continued. "The string shouldn't be as hard as the stone. Jaden, could you see if you could go with Alicia and see if the two of you can find either a red string or a silver chain? I'm going to take Leslie and Syrus to see if we can find a Holey Stone. Move out!" Sybil ended dramatically. Jaden chuckled a little, but went outside to grab Alicia anyway.

* * *

"What exactly is it, Zane?" Alexis asked him once again. "What are you doing? Zane!"

"Just shut up already!" Zane scowled, silencing the girl with a nice little death glare. The wizard had stood up and started walking away from the computer. "I think that website is a fluke, something to mislead us. And I thought I heard something at the back of the library, but this place is so fricken big, and the books absorb a lot of sound," he fumed, storming to the dark depths of the bookcases. Alexis followed him after a moment's hesitation.

Zane found a book open on its spine on the ground. He picked it up, carefully aware of its yellow pages, and closed it, looking at the cover. There was no author or title, just the Celtic knot. He sensed a malevolent aura surrounding it. "Now what is something like this doing in the school library?" he mused, his frustration forgotten for a second… but only for a second. He turned back to Alexis. "This book has an evil spirit," he told her. "We need Sybil to help us with this."

The mermaid could only nod and follow Zane as he sneaked the book out.

* * *

Shara arrived quickly at the old Castle, and the door opened to let her in. Jerome followed her, but when he escaped the light of the moon, he was able to regain some human consciousness and transform back.

"Whoops, sorry Shara," Jerome apologized. The Neko transformed back too.

"Eh, that's okay," she said. "It's not your fault the moon's full." She looked around the vicinity they were in. "What a spooky atmosphere. And it's so dark… Where did that candlelight go too?" Jerome stopped and sniffed the air.

"I smell something foul," he said, wrinkling his nose. "Where are we anyway?"

A set if giggles gathered their attention from a room nearby. They followed the sound to find themselves in a room with a bookcase at the opposite wall, a wooden table in the middle, large windows facing a grassy field, and an iron fire place/stove thing in a back corner with a fire going and crackling.

"Hold on," Shara said. "I think I remember seeing something like this on TV!! What is it, some castle in Ireland, the most haunted one… Erg! I can't remember the name!"

"Leap, right?" Jerome put in. He said Leap like _Lepp_, which was how it was pronounced. "I remember reading about it a little back home."

Two shimmering ghosts were together in the room. Shara got spooked, and raced upstairs with Jerome trying to keep up. They found themselves in a room with straw on the floor and wooden rafters being the home of bats. A couple squeaked at them when they made their noisy arrival, but didn't really bother them.

"I wish I had a flashlight," Shara grumbled, feeling along the walls. "Whoah!" Suddenly, she dropped from sight, clattering to the bottom of a pit.

"Shara!?" Jerome called down the hole. "I think you fell in the Oubliette! Do you see the ladder?"

"Hold on," she shouted back up. "I think I see someone… _Aster!?!?!?!?_"

Jerome couldn't believe his ears, so he lowered himself into the oubliette and let himself drop to the dirt floor covering the deadly spikes. He crept forward and bumped into Shara. "Sorry, he said, looking over her shoulder. "Wow, it _is_ Aster! What are you doing down here!?"

With the little light combined with their animal eyes, they could make out the hunched outline of Aster Phoenix sitting against the short wall. He looked up, but he couldn't really see anyone clearly.

"Shara, Dalton? What I should ask is what _you're _doing here," he said. "_He_ threw me in here with the intention of forgetting about me, the bloody bastard…"

"Who?" Shara asked. "Who would throw you in an oubliette…?"

"Folke, that's who," Aster scowled. "That fricken Landvaettir…"

"Hold on, Landvaettir…?" Jerome mused. "We read about them in that weird book…"

"You read it too?" Aster asked, standing up with some difficulty, as the oubliette was very short. "Man, you guys are stupid."

"Well, you're here too," Shara grumbled.

"That book is what took us here," Aster said. "Me and Emerald. The Landvaettir dude threw me in here and took Emerald…" He shivered suddenly. "I don't like this place, just help me out of here!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh," Shara said. She reverted to cat form once again and bounced her way out of the hole, changing to human to aid the two boys out. She stood up and brushed straw off her skirt, then stopped. "Did you see that?" she asked the guys.

"See what?" they replied in unison.

"A face, a hooded face with a beard," she started. "This place is creepy, let's just find Emerald and find our way out!"

* * *

"Sybil! SYYYBIIIIIIIIL!!!" a voice roared over the treetops.

"Boy, that sounds vaguely familiar," Sybil commented dryly to her two companions. "Sort of like… ZAAAAAAAAANE!"

The said wizard stumbled out of the bushes, holding a dusty old volume. "Sybil," he gasped, out of breath. He held out the book. "I need you to despell this!"

"I don't know…" Sybil started. "It'll definitely take a while, 'cause I need to first find OUT the spell, then find out how to reverse it, then actually do it… why?"

In answer, Zane flipped open to a page and showed it to her. "Don't read it aloud," he warned. Sybil took it from him and read a few lines to herself.

_The elf looked down upon the hero. "Why did you do that?" she asked. "That 'demon' needn't have died. He was only surviving, as many of us do." She turned away from him, her long black hair swishing along with her green dress. To the Landvaettir she said, "You take away my man and you expect me to be your queen. I __reject your offer."_

"Why," Sybil exclaimed, "it sounds just like Emerald!"

Zane nodded. "I think Emerald and possibly Aster and maybe a few other people have been trapped in there. That's why I need you to reverse the spell."

"Alright," Sybil gave in, "I suppose. I'll get to work right away. Leslie, Syrus, continue looking. Zane, why don't you join them? Since I'll be gone, they'll need another set of eyes… They'll fill you in."

* * *

Shara crept downstairs again, leading the two boys. She took them outside, for a fresh breath of air before the horrible trek back inside. Clouds had covered the moon, throwing the entire courtyard into darkness.

"This place is in complete ruins," Aster complained. In the better light, Shara and Jerome could see him better. His hair was messed up and filthy, and his trademark silver suit was ruined with dirt and grime. Suddenly, a growl ripped itself from Jerome's throat. "What is it now, Dalton," Aster groaned.

They looked at where Jerome was looked, and saw two eyes reflected in the dim light looking at them, one blue and one green. Jerome crouched into an offensive position and the source of the eyes growled back.

"Hold on!" Shara shouted, putting a hand on Jerome's shoulder. "It's Kris!" As if on cue, the eyes rose up and a human shape walked into the dim night light. Just because the moon was behind clouds didn't mean it was pitch black.

"Do you have any idea where Chazz is?" the wolf demon asked. "I came in here with him, but… We were surrounded and… Wait, _Aster?_" Enter Aster's facepalm here.

"Yes, it's me," he said, annoyed. "I just need to find Emerald, and then we can get out of here."

"Wait, but what about our little vampire friend?" Shara pointed out.

"We'll live," Aster argued.

"Hold your horses," Kris groaned. "We need _both_ of them, you dimwits. Besides, hasn't it occurred to you that the vaettir leading this is probably a Shadow Fiend? A good spirit turned evil?"

Jerome shrugged. "I thought it was just another strange happening, like our school always has." Kris facepalmed herself right about now.

"_All_ of the strange occurrences so far have been Shadow Fiends!" she cried. "Haven't you noticed anything yet!?"

"Eh, he's a little slow," Aster joked, only to receive a whack on the back from said werewolf.

"If anything," Jerome continued, "I bet Chazz is in the basement."

"Oh no, not there," Shara groaned. "How about you boys go down there, and us girls will search for Emerald on the first floor…"

"Nuh uh," Aster said tartly. "I'm searching for Emi too."

"Fine, if you're too scared, I'll join Dalton in the basement," Kris offered. "We're both wolves, we'll get along great, _won't we_, Dalton?"

"Ehh… Yeah…"

* * *

Sybil held her hand over the book, making both it and her appendage glow faintly. Her eyes were closed, and on her forehead was the shape of an eye. It might have been real, or it might have been penciled in, but either way it was a third eye looking at the volume.

She opened her eyes and the third eye disappeared. "Oh boy," she whispered to the fading light. "This'll be a doozy."

Tee Hee!

* * *

**Hope you liked it. Review, review, review! Next chapter: Shara, Jerome, Aster, and Kris explore Leap Castle a little… with some big suprises. And will Sybil be able, with Zane's and possibly Leslie's help, de-curse the book with the Celtic Knot on it?**


	23. Love ALWAYS Saves the Day

**I'm back. Seeing Chazz in an amv motivated me a little. Wow, how random was THAT!?**

* * *

Leap Castle was dark, and the only light available to the two pairs of teens were the torches they had found and lit. Kris and Jerome found a staircase leading downstairs and took it, while Shara and Aster continued exploring the first floor.

The basement was relatively small. It was rectangular, with a narrow hallway leading off to the left of the staircase.

"So," Kris started, rocking on her heels. "Shall we start exploring?" Jerome didn't answer, and he seemed to be preoccupied with something. Maybe it was trying to cope with being under a gigantic haunted castle. Kris, who was holding the torch, merely shrugged and started down the small hallway.

It didn't go very far, it seemed, but when Kris was halfway, she noticed that her torch didn't penetrate some of the shadows. Intrigued, she moved closer, then stopped when she saw the shadow _move_. Her eyes widened, a little freaked out, but the shadow had disappeared, so she ventured further.

When Kris had reached the end of the hallway, she was surprised to see that it just… stopped. No little cavity or room at the end, it just… stopped.

"Dalton!!" She called loudly, her voice echoing around her. "Get your furry little werewolf butt over here!!!!" She tapped her foot impatiently while Jerome stumbled towards the light of her torch.

"What?" he asked, slightly annoyed at having been left in the dark.

"I think this hall should extend farther, but there's nothing," Kris explained hurriedly. "But the thing is, I think… there might be something here with us, and whenever we're in someplace haunted, we _never_ split up." Jerome just shrugged and leaned against the wall that stopped the hallway.

"Whatever. You're the ghost expert. WHOA!" Suddenly, he fell backwards into the wall, his body sliding through it like it was made of water. The wall rippled accordingly then returned to its cement-like state.

"Weird…" Kris said quietly. "Dalton, can you hear me!?"

"A little!" came the reply. Kris put her hand on the wall Jerome fell through, but it felt pretty solid.

"I can't get through," Kris said loudly so that the werewolf could hear her.

"That's too bad," Jerome's voice resonated. "Because it's pretty dark here. I can't see _anything_, not even my hand. I could use your torch."

"Well, try to get out, like, reach a hand through or something," Kris suggested. She could just imagine Jerome shrug then try to do it. Kris put her hand on the wall also, and prayed that something would happen, so that she wasn't stuck and/or cornered with a mysterious shadow.

* * *

"Sybil!" It was Leslie. "I found a Holey Stone!"

"Let me see it," Sybil ordered. The Lama was sitting on a bench in the Obelisk's garden, the Celtic Knot book beside here, and she herself pouring over a text even more ancient than the book that swallowed their friends.

Leslie held out a gray stone with two holes placed like eyes on it. The holes were small, but they went through the entire rock, and thus could be stringed. "I found it at the lake," the witch said.

"That's perfect," said Sybil, taking the stone and stringing red yarn through the two holes. "This one will go to Atticus. Go find Zane and Syrus and tell them to join you at the lake also. Water erosion sometimes does this."

Leslie nodded and went to do as she was told, disappearing with a small pop. Sybil, meanwhile, switched from her old tome to a newer one, one that might've been bought a week or two ago. She skimmed the index and turned to a page unknown to us…

* * *

Aster and Shara aimlessly explored the rooms, seeing no ghosts or activity of any sort. Despite this, they stuck close together, taking comfort in the heat of the torch and of each other. Don't worry, they're still loyal to their chosen partners, but in this case, exceptions must be made.

They had almost explored the entire first floor when Shara swore she heard footsteps behind them.

"Relax, kitty," Aster said, already tired of this spooky environment. He put a friendly arm around Shara's shoulders. "As long as we stick together, nothing should attack us. You know, in horror movies they always attack those who are alone…"

"_I'm so glad Hollywood has influenced you so,_" a strange voice said behind them. Before they could turn around, a sword was swung horizontally. Pain ripped through their torsos, but the sword just passed through them. Their world went even blacker as they fell unconscious, their torch falling and going out.

"_Maybe these two will be sufficient sacrifices,"_ the voice whispered. A tall figure bent down and started to drag the knocked-out bodies of Shara and Aster away into the dark depths of Leap Castle.

* * *

Leslie, Zane, and Syrus returned to Sybil with seven more Holey Stones, which Sybil took gladly.

"Alright," she said. "I needed seven stones exactly, anyway. Thanks, and if you please, could you go hang this one…" she held up the red-stringed Holey Stone Leslie had found… "on Atticus's bedpost? Much appreciated." She tossed it at them, and Zane caught it when both Leslie and Syrus were too short to get a grab at it.

Zane didn't like being ordered around so much, but he kept telling himself there was no other way. Leslie sensed this discontent, and was reminded often of that strange monstrous influence that came from the Item that had possessed Zane. Could some of that influence still be there? Or does he just hate being on the bottom, and must he always be at top? In any matter, Leslie loved him, and she was willing to overlook this minor flaw if it didn't come back to bite her again.

Once the trio had left, Sybil glanced at her watch, which read "2:56 PM."

"Gotta work quickly," she murmured to herself. "First step is at three."

She took one of the Holey Stones, a brown one, perfectly smooth with a hole almost directly in the middle, and placed it on the Celtic Knot on the book. She pushed it from the center to the point facing up, and shifted the book so that point was facing north. Then, she hovered her hand over it, and chanted, "I call upon the powers of thee, O great Ruler, to start the process of the decay of magick surrounding this tome. I beg of thee, Great Ruler, to slay the traps that hold my comrades inside." The book glowed a faint gold, showing that it worked.

Sybil let out a long sigh. The first step, also the easiest, was finished, but her job was far from done. She still had to decode the rest of the magic, and it had to be done by six o'clock that evening for the next step.

* * *

Kris had prayed for something to happen, and something _did_ happen. Her hand that was on the wall fell through, and she followed it, straight into Jerome.

"Gack!" she cried, startled. Jerome caught her to prevent her from falling onto the cold stone floor. "Sorry, Dalton…"

"It's all right," he grunted. "But it seems to me that wall is a one way thi––" As if in reply, the wall shimmered and disappeared. "Now _that's_ weird."

Kris looked back and saw the wall gone, too. "Someone must be working to break down the spells keeping us here," she commented. "Probably Leslie or Zane, or Sybil, or all three of them working together."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Jerome glanced down the opposite way, farther down the previously hidden corridor, now lit by the torch. "Let's explore some more. We still haven't found Chazz, and that's why we're down here."

Kris sighed. "As much as I'd hate to continue down this corridor, I have to say you're right. I could never leave this place if Chazz was never found, and trapped here forever. I'd never live with the guilt." Taking up the torch she had dropped, she continued down the hallway with Jerome at her heels.

It didn't take very long to reach the end, which in this case, _did_ open up to a wider room. And guess what! In the very middle of it was a pure white marble coffin. Jerome moved to open it, but Kris yelled, "STOP!"

"Why?"

"I watched the beginning of this movie, and a guy opened a coffin very much like this, and spikes fell down from the ceiling and killed him and his blood revived Dracula who was residing inside," she said quickly, breathing quickly afterwards. Jerome put on a bored and annoyed look and took the torch from Kris. Glancing around, he noticed more torches lining the walls, which he immediately lit.

"Do you _see_ any traps, Kris?" he said dryly. The wolf demon examined the rather low ceiling and admitted that she didn't. Thus, the _loupgarou_ handed his torch back to Kris and shoved against the top of the coffin. After a couple hard shoves, it began to shift a little. When he had it open about three or four inches, a pale hand shot up and raked long nails through his shirt and skin. With a shout, Jerome pulled back quickly.

"Holy crud, my _arm's_ bleedin'!" he cried. Kris cautiously moved near him to get a look at the wound. It wasn't very deep – indeed, it was already beginning to clot – but it bled like a bad paper cut.

The demon looked back at the white coffin. The hand from before reached up with its long white fingers and gripped the edge of the cover. It pushed the top of the coffin off like it was made of cardboard until it tipped and fell with a crash to the ground. Jerome and Kris backed away from it and pressed their backs against the wall as all the torches but theirs blew out in a sudden chill. They could see a dark shape sit up, and its head turned towards them. Its eyes gleamed and glinted in the lonely torchlight. They shone a deep scarlet, with hunger reflected in them clearly.

"Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit," Jerome moaned. "I bet it's a fricken _vampire._"

"Wait…" Kris said slowly. "That means… CHAZZ!" she screamed as the owner of the scarlet eyes leaped at her with superhuman speed. Both she and Jerome ducked and dove in opposite directions. The shadowy figure put a foot and a hand in front of him to bounce off the wall. The red, red eyes turned towards Kris, and white pointy teeth shone at her in the dim light of the torch she dropped. She was on the ground because of her evasive dive, so she could get up quick enough when the figure lurched at her once again.

The figure tackled her, forcing her onto her back. He wasted no time in lunging at her neck, sinking his fangs into her neck. Kris gave out a high pitched scream and tried to push the vampire off of her with her arms and even her legs, but he was immovable.

"STOP!!!" she wailed. "Stop it!!..." her voice was noticeably getting weaker. Suddenly, the creature pulled back and roared in pain. Jerome had taken the still lit torch and swung it with all his might and strength onto the back of the vampire.

The vampire's clothes caught fire, and in the moment before he stumbled back, his silhouette was illuminated, and judging by the hair, Kris was able to confirm that it was indeed Chazz. But he was crazed, half-dead, and starved. Not a very good thing for a half-human and a wolf-man.

While Chazz was squirming on the ground in intense pain, Jerome grabbed Kris by her wrist and pulled her out of there. They raced at full speed, adrenaline pumping, down the narrow hallway, up the stairs, and down _that_ corridor, before bursting into a wide open room and collapsing. Moonlight streamed through tall windows (which Jerome was careful to miss when he fell), lighting up the room enough to see by. A plush velvet, blood red rug ran from the entrance to the opposite end of the room. At that side, two thrones sat side by side, both occupied. One of them was…

* * *

**Earlier…**

Emerald sat at her throne, her legs and arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. The Landvaettir in front of her was kneeling with his head bowed.

"Why won't you be our queen?" he asked. "It would seem like such a simple thing to require." This spirit had thin green hair that reached a little past his jaw bone and almond-shaped, clear blue eyes that slanted upwards. His skin had a healthy tan, his ears were long and pointed, and he spoke with an Irish accent. He was wearing a sky blue tunic with a golden Celtic Knot that matched the one on the book, and he had a long sword with a light green blade belted and sheathed at his waist. He had white pants, brown boots, and brown gloves also.

This was Folke.

"I heard you kidnapped my friends, too," Emerald scolded. "The other vaettir speak much. It's not hard to eavesdrop."

"Y-yes, well…" Folke started sheepishly. "M-my master is getting weak, and I couldn't bear to sacrifice you and your great power…"

"So instead you choose a human and a cat," said the elf flatly. Folke looked up and into Emi's angry eyes.

"My lady," Folke started again. "How can I explain this to you? I wish to protect you. However, my master wants your massive magic. My only choice was to substitute."

"Yes, but my _boyfriend!?_" she cried. "Are you mad!? That doesn't make me much happier!" Folke bowed his head again.

"I'm sorry."

"So you're sorry, huh?" Emerald stormed. "I bet you took my Item too, didn't you!?"

"Yes, my lady."

Emerald's rage just grew. "Give me my Item back, and lead me to my friends that you so _cunningly_ kidnapped!"

"Alas," Folke said, "I cannot give you the Item. We took it so we could… ah, how should I put it… _taint_ it, infuse it with darkness. If I gave it back to you, you'd destroy us all, along with this castle, no doubt."

"At least take me to my friends!" she roared. This order, Folke could obey. He stood up and waited for the elf to stand also. She rose from her seat, smoothing her dress. Indeed, she had changed from her original outfit into a long green sleeveless dress that matched her eyes at Folke's request. She was also wearing a pure white robe that too had no sleeves. Its hood was up, and it connected to a large, round black button just under her throat, creating a very dashing look.

Emerald followed Folke out a door in the side, down a flight of stairs, up two, across an open-roof room, and down a narrow corridor to a holding room. The stones that built this area seemed to radiate a blue tint, and there, chained to the wall by their hands, were Shara and Aster.

"Aster!" Emerald cried, tears springing to her eyes immediately. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was shallow. Not to mention, he was out cold. The elf rushed up to him and cradled his head in both her hands. "Aster, Aster," she whispered softly, her cheeks wet. She whipped around to face Folke, pure wrath boiling from underneath. "RELEASE HIM NOW!!!!!!" she bellowed, her voice more powerful than anyone could ever imagine coming from her. She clenched her hands into fists. "I ORDER YOU!"

Folke slowly backed away, his hand going to a pouch tied to his belt. He dipped his fingers into it as magicked vines started to crawl upwards from in between the stones. Emerald's eyes were shining a bright, bright green, and her teeth were bared in fury. She thrust a commanding finger towards the Landvaettir, and the vines shot forward with murderous intent.

"You _will_ be our queen," he said forcefully, whipping his fingers out of his pouch and tossing a strange, glittering powder towards Emerald. It floated around her, and her eyes went dull as she crumpled. "You _will _be our queen," he said again. He lifted the elf up and strode out of the room.

Aster shifted oh-so slightly in his chains. "Emerald…"

* * *

Sybil took a deep breath and glanced first at her watch, then at the setting sun. Six o'clock was nearing, and it was almost time to take the next step. She picked up a Holey Stone that was a dark gray, with two holes on opposite sides. She placed this on the center of the Celtic Knot like she did with the first one. With the book still facing north, she moved the stone to the left, towards the sun.

She chanted, "O Great Rule, I beg of thee, remove the traps binding my comrades inside. I ask this of thee for the second time, please do, Great Ruler, what I request from thee!" The book glowed once more, and the second spell was complete.

"Just two more to go," muttered Sybil.

The next one was at nine o'clock.

* * *

One of the figures was, no doubt, Emerald!

"Emi!" Kris shouted weakly, worn out from the dash. "Emi, we've come to get you!"

The figure that was Emerald stood up with one, graceful movement. With queen-like elegance, she strode towards them, her robe making soft swishing noises on the rug. But something was wrong; both Jerome and Kris could sense that. When she got closer, they could see that her eyes were lifeless.

"No," Jerome breathed. "This can't be…" Emerald raised a hand, and it shimmered with an unearthly green radiance. Vines burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around the wolfish teenagers, lifting them up off the floor to eye-level with the elf.

The other figure also ambled from his throne and joined Emerald. "One of them can be a tribute to our waiting vampire, no?" he said.

"Of course, Folke," Emerald said, her voice flat and monotonous. "Take them to the holding cell."

"Yes, my queen," Folke said, bowing.

"Hold on, _Folke!?_" Jerome exclaimed, astonished. "You – Aster told me about you!" Emerald seemed to twitch when Aster's name was mentioned, but only Kris saw it.

"Ah, yes," Folke replied nonchalantly. "The boy with silver hair, yes? I remember him… I took him."

"Took him!?" Kris inquired. "What do you mean!?"

"You'll find out soon enough," he said, waving his hand slowly. Suddenly, Kris couldn't keep her eyes open. She fell limp…

And when she woke up, her wrists were bound, and her feet were dangling. A quick look told her where she was. It seemed to be some sort of dungeon. On one side of her, Jerome was also chained. On the other side…

"Aster! Shara!" They were trapped similarly, but only Kris was awake. No matter how many times she called their names, neither of them stirred. "Come on, get up," she whimpered, feeling as though all hope was lost. "Aww, seriously, Sybil, work faster!" she shouted to the ceiling.

As if in answer, all of the chains disappeared. Instead of them all falling limply to the ground, they floated harmlessly down. It was like a hand held them and lowered them slowly.

Once her feet touched land, Kris immediately bent down at Aster's side. She had seen Emi flinch when his name was spoken, so maybe he was the answer to cure her of her strange form of brainwashing. She gently shook the silver-haired boy, but he remained comatose. Surprisingly, however, even though the dungeon was full of a chill, his body was warm, almost too warm. Was he sick? Kris hoped not.

When she was out of ideas, she turned to Jerome. After some attempts at waking him up (some included lifting him up and dropping him again… that didn't work, so don't tell Jerome she did that), he finally aroused. "K-Kris?" he mumbled. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," she said, noting the goosebumps on his exposed skin. Even the werewolf had gotten cold. "But Shara and Aster won't wake up. I'm getting worried. What happened to them!?"

"As if I would know," Jerome said grumpily, rubbing his head and sitting up. "All I am sure of is that I'm ridiculously dizzy. I don't think I can stand up."

"Seriously?" Kris asked incredulously. "I can stand up just fine…"

"Maybe that spell Folke put on us works differently for you, or something."

"Maybe… It wouldn't be impossible." Jerome just lied back down and closed his eyes again. "Aw crap, Dalton, don't…" But it was too late, he was already out cold again. Kris facepalmed herself.

She was totally out of ideas. There wasn't a door she could see (If there was one, it blended with the wall pretty well), she was with three comatose people who couldn't wake up, therefore useless, and no one else could help.

However, there _was_ a small window. Too small to crawl out of, maybe, but she hoisted herself up and took a peek outside. Nothing, just flat plain and a lot of trees. She lowered back to the floor and slid down the wall to sit down. That was when the window exploded, shattering the glass into fine powder with a huge bang.

Pale fingers – all too familiar, thought Kris – appeared over the windowsill, and a face loomed in the space.

"Kris?" a voice whispered. It sounded vaguely… what's the word… well-known to the wolf demon. "Kris, are you in there?"

"Ch-Chazz?" Kris spoke. "Is that you?"

"Yup. Sorry about the… er, episode in the basement…" Kris subconsciously put a hand to her throat.

"It's not your fault," she answered.

"What's the matter here?" asked Chazz, meaning the three other people in the room. "What happened?"

"I don't know," she said. "Folke put some kind of spell on them. He did it to me, too, but it didn't seem to work as well on me. Did he do it to you too?"

Chazz grimaced. "He didn't have to," he said. "He just cut me with that weird sword of his and let me starve in the basement in a sealed white tomb."

"The sword…" Kris whispered. She glanced back at Aster and Shara. "Do you think it can do more than just cut like a normal one?"

"How so?"

"Like, slice through your soul, or something."

The vampire paused. "It's possible," he said after a while. "It would explain why those two won't wake up."

"Yeah, so if that was true, then whe–"

"One sec," interrupted Chazz. "Back away from the wall." With only a faint idea of what he was going to do, Kris obeyed, dragging Jerome away also. Soon after she did that, the wall also exploded as the vampire punched it with his fist. "That window needed improvements anyway," he chuckled, climbing inside. "Now, you were saying?"

* * *

"My queen," Folke murmured, tilting Emerald's chin. "Those four will bother you no more."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he answered. "I have their souls." He held up four glass vials, each labeled with a name. In them were small, golf-ball sized orbs of wispy light, each with an outline of some distinctive color. Aster's was silver, Shara's was a bubblegum pink, Jerome's a midnight blue, and Kris's a soft leafy green. "They can't work properly without them."

"Good," she said. "Take them and put them somewhere safe and well-hidden," she ordered. Folke nodded and turned to leave. However, there was a ruffle in the rug, and he tripped over it, falling to the ground with a _whump_. One of the vials burst, the "soul" hanging in the air for a second before sinking through the floor.

Folke cursed and gathered up the other three, unharmed bottles. "I'm sorry, my queen," he apologized. One of the souls escaped."

"It is of no matter to me," Emerald replied, waving him off. Folke bowed and, careful not to trip again, left.

* * *

"I was saying," Kris continued, "That if they indeed have no souls, where are they? What?" she asked, when she noticed Chazz was looking curiously at her.

"I just realized…" he started. "Don't you have a blue eye and a green eye?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Now you have two blue eyes."

"_Huh?_" Chazz moved closer, staring directly into her eyes, making Kris blush despite herself.

"Yup, your eyes are blue."

"What does that mean?" Kris said with annoyance, pushing Chazz away.

"The only thing I can guess is he took your soul too… well, half of it, at least."

"Half of it?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Chazz took a deep breath and thought for a moment. "Well, you're a hafling, should I dare say. The offspring of a human and a wolf demon. Therefore, it's like one half of your soul is that of a wolf demon's, but the other half is that of the human's. My guess is that Folke only took the wolf half, seeing as you're still a girl."

"You mean to say…" Kris started. "Currently, I'm not half wolf, I'm just…"

"Fully human," Chazz completed. A sudden thought came to Kris's mind, and she started to edge away from the vampire. "What?" he asked, surprised at her reaction.

"Well…" How could Kris say it? It was like saying someone was ugly when they knew it. "Y-you're a vampire, and…" Chazz started to laugh dryly.

"Do you really think," he said, an inch of anger hidden behind his cruel laugh, "that I would want to do that to you!?" His eyes flash a scarlet color, but returned quickly black, thank god. "Do you really think that I would actually _want_ your blood!?" He leaned forward. "Don't even say such moronic things. If you've got nothing smart to say, don't say it!!!"

Kris was actually a little hurt by this. "So then, I'm just a worthless piece of junk?" she snapped. "So my blood means nothing to you? Nothing at all?" She felt her eyes begin to burn, but she refused to cry. "Maybe I should just surrender to Folke, then. I'm sure as his brainwashed slave, I'll be much better to him than I was to you!" With that outburst, she turned away from Chazz, even if it meant facing that wall. She leaned her forehead against it, took deep breaths, and crossed her arms.

Chazz immediately felt guilty, but only slightly. After all, she had assumed that just because she had blood, he would hunger after it. Of course, he would be lying to himself if he said he absolutely had no interest in it. But currently at least, he was able to push it to the back of his mind.

Looking away from Kris, he noticed a small white orb with a silver outline float out of the ceiling. "Kris, look!" he said. Luckily, she caught the tone of voice that said it wasn't just another part of the argument, and turned to watch the orb drift down and enter Aster's body, making him glow for a second. After a few moments of held breath, he stirred and opened his eyes wearily.

"Whoah," he whispered hoarsely. "I have got to lay off the champagne at parties…"

"Aster!" Chazz and Kris yelled at the same time. Aster jumped, and sat up.

"Chazz, Kris? What're you doing here… wait, what am _I_ doing here? Where's Emerald?"

"Eh…" Kris was unsure of where to start. "Well, we both at some point were attacked by Folke, and Chazz was sealed in a coffin in the basement, and I and Jerome were put here with you guys."

"You… guys…" Aster glanced over his shoulder and saw Shara. "Oh," he said softly.

"We were hoping you could tell us what landed you here," Chazz explained.

"Well…" Aster started. "Well… I… can't really remember," he confessed.

"WHAT!?!?!?!?" the vampire and the wolf demon both cried.

Aster looked sheepish, and smiled guiltily at them. "Well, I remember a little bit… I can only recall that Shara and I were almost done exploring the first floor… then… a pain through my torso… then nothing… then here."

"Must've been the sword," Kris said to Chazz, their previous quarrel forgotten. "You were right, it doesn't just harm the body, but the soul two."

"Huh?" Aster put in. "What do you…" Suddenly, he was silenced. His eyes grew wide as he looked behind Chazz and Kris.

"What…" Kris turned around also and gasped. Chazz did the same. Behind them, holding three vials of orbs like the one that entered Aster, was Folke.

"Getting close to the secret, are we?" he chuckled. "I'm surprised at you, Kris. I took your soul, but still you walk and talk."

"You only took half of it!" Kris said defiantly.

"I'll have to change that, then," Folke said, placing the vials next to wall and drawing his green sword. Before anyone could stop him, he thrust it forward through Kris.

"Oh," was all she said, crumpling to the floor, cataleptic. She wasn't bleeding, but out of her floated the other half of her soul, outlined in a sky blue. Folke whipped out another vial from somewhere, and caught it before it had a chance to reenter her.

"Sunova…" Chazz growled, tackling the Landvaettir. Aster, unable to do anything, backed up against the wall.

Folke threw Chazz off of him and into a different wall with a surprising amount of strength. The vampire crashed through it into a room on the other side. He used the momentum to roll over backwards and leap up again. However, Folke was already running at him with his sword drawn. He slashed it, but Chazz nimbly dodged it.

Aster looked around for anything, anything at all, to help Chazz and give him the advantage in battle. But there wasn't anything. The chains were gone, there were no torches or anything to hit someone with, and even if he got a brick from the broken wall, he'd never be able to actually hit Folke with it. He bent down and pressed his palms to his temples. What could he do? He was totally worthless. A worthless piece of the group that had no purpose to be in. If he was still a robot, he could shoot Folke or something, but now that he wasn't, he was just human. Only human.

He couldn't help but think that even Jaden would've thought of something. And then it hit him. The vials! Folke was too busy fighting Chazz to protect them! Aster, careful not to draw attention to himself, crept along the wall towards the small bottles. He picked them up as silently as he could, and read the labels. They each had a different name on them, names he recognized, and two of them said the same one.

First he crawled over to Jerome, the closest. He pulled out the stopper in the one with his name on it and shook the glowing orb in it out. When Jerome woke up, Aster quickly covered his mouth and put a finger to his lips. Next, he tiptoed over to Shara and did the same thing. Then he moved to Kris and opened both of the bottles with her name on them and poured her soul out.

"Aster," she whispered, fully aware that Chazz and Folke were battling, "thanks." Aster just smiled gently.

"I'm going to go find Emerald," he muttered back. "I have to see how she is."

"Be careful," she replied. "She's been brainwashed by Folke."

"Noted," Aster said softly. "I'll be sure to come back in one piece." Kris nodded, and Aster slinked out through the hole Folke had made. The two battlers had taken their brawl outside, where there was more room, so that just made it easier for him. Once outside of that dreadful dungeon, he was faced with two different hallways. Making a huge gamble, he started to race down the one to his right.

* * *

Nine o'clock neared, and Sybil placed a third, greenish Holey Stone on the Celtic Knot and pushed it to the right, towards east. As she did this, she chanted:

"O Great Ruler, I request of thee, to remove the bindings of this book, and bring my companions one step closer to being free."

The book glowed once more, and Sybil stood up and stretched. All this magic casting had left her tired and drained. She would very much like to sleep, but the next step was at midnight, and there was no way she could miss it. If she missed it, all of this would be for naught.

Leslie and Zane appeared at her side. Atticus seemed to be better, but still comatose.

"Tired?" Zane asked. Sybil nodded and yawned.

"But I have to do the last spell," she said sleepily.

"Why don't we do it?" Leslie suggested. "We're both fully capable, and we haven't used magic all day." Sybil thought this over and shrugged.

"I don't see why not, though it might cause some complications since all magic is different… However…" She took out a piece of paper and pen and scribbled on it furiously. "When it is close to midnight, place the four stones I haven't used on the Celtic Knot on the book, one on each corner and the last one directly in the middle. While you're doing this, chant this spell."

Zane took it and read it to himself. "Seems easy enough," he commented.

"Be careful, though," Sybil warned. "This last one will probably drain you of all your strength. The last three I did took nearly all my mana, so I should probably rest and regain it." Leslie and Zane nodded slowly.

"Don't worry about us," Leslie said confidently. "We can do this."

* * *

While racing down the hallway he had chosen, Aster passed an ivy covered door. He skidded to a stop and turned around to open it. He knew how Emerald could control plants and nature easily, being an elf, so his best bet was behind that door.

He opened it and entered the room with the two thrones. One of the thrones was empty now. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, a vine shot and him, and he ducked, lest he be speared.

"Emi!" he shouted at the shape seated in the other throne. "Emi, I've come to save you!" He tried to move towards her, but when he did a vine creeped up his leg and held him in place. He tugged at it to no avail. "Emerald! Let me go!" he demanded.

With an aristocratic poise that she did not possess before, Emerald stepped down from her throne and walked towards him. Along the way, moonlight from the window settled on her, making her appear to shine. Aster could not stop from looking at his beautiful lover.

"Emerald," he begged. "Emi, please…" The elf did not pause or hesitate in her stride. Another vine wrapped around his wrists, forcing them behind his back and binding them.

Emerald approached him finally, and Aster could see how dead her eyes looked. They showed no recognition, and definitely no life. She had indeed been put under a spell by Folke. Aster's anger started to boil. How could that Landvaettir do such a thing!?

Emerald stared him down, and he looked away. She placed a cold hand on his chin and forced him to gaze at her again. Her grip was icy and strong, and try as he might, he could not escaped her clutched. He really was an idiot for going after her in the end.

Aster felt his knees buckle, and he fell to them, bowing his head in despair and fatigue. "Emi," he called. "I love you, Emi, please come back to me." Emerald blinked, but made no reply. He looked up to see if anything had changed, but it had not. Instead, the elf drew back hand and slapped him.

Aster's head jerked to the side with the power, and he cried out in shock. A great warmth started to flow from his very core. It spread throughout his entire body, and he felt lifted by it. Suddenly, Emerald screeched as if in pain, and the vines fell away. Aster stood up, strength returning to him, and he stared the elf directly in the eyes.

A bizarre fire began to start behind Aster, and he held out his arms as if preparing to embrace someone. Flame-like wings erupted from his back, each feather made up of hundreds of orange, red, and yellow sparks. He marched towards Emerald, who continued to screech and retreat. But the fire made a circle around her and Aster, keeping her from escaping.

Despite the flame's wrath, Aster's face was not unkind. He held out a hand for Emerald and waited, his eyes boring into hers. She could not run anymore, not from him, not from his eyes. She started to tremble violently and she clutched her head.

Aster walked closer and embraced her. Emerald's eyes were wide, but after a moment, they closed, and she hugged him back.

"Are you there?" Aster whispered into her ear.

"Yes, my love," Emerald murmured back. "I'm sorry, whatever I did."

"It's okay."

* * *

**I'm ending it there, because it's already very long. Or at least it feels that way.**

**Remember to review! Reviews are to authors as blood is to vampires!!!**


	24. Aster PHOENIX

**I've been thinking. If a dragon was pitched against a vampire, the dragon would easily win, especially if it breathed fire. Vampires always burn with fire, and if the dragon breathes it, the vampire's toast. No pun intended.**

**Oh and sorry the last chapter was soooo loooong. It took me longer than I thought to get to the Aster-with-the-fiery-wings part. This one will be much shorter.**

* * *

"Hey Aster, why is your cheek red?"

"It doesn't matter, Emi."

The two people watched Chazz and Folke battle outside for a bit. At some point, Chazz threw Folke in the air, but the Landvaettir landed back on his feet.

"Should we help them, or…" Emerald trailed.

"Yeah, probably," answered Aster. The fire was still raging behind them, but though it was destroying the room, it did no harm to them. He picked up a tall gold candelabrum with no candles and thrust it through the window they were looking out of. The glass shattered, and he cleared it enough so that it was safe to climb out of.

"Um, Aster," Emerald started. "We're two stories up."

"No problemo," Aster grinned. He gathered the elf in his arms and jumped out of the window. His wings of flame caught the air, and they floated harmlessly to the ground.

"You are like my angel," Emerald commented, kissing him on the cheek. Aster said nothing, but kissed her back. Still holding the candelabrum, he leapt upwards, catching the wind with his wings, to join the fray.

* * *

Zane checked his watch, then gently shook Leslie awake. "It's nearly midnight," he said. Leslie sat up and stretched while Zane took the last four Holey Stones, all of them reddish brown, and placed them on the three corners and one in the middle of the Celtic Knot. Leslie took the crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket.

"Ready?" she asked.

"For about three hours," Zane replied, smirking. Hovering over the book and the piece of paper, they began to chant the spell together.

"_O Great Ruler, I call upon thee to break the final chains on this evil tome. Great Ruler, I ask that thee disengage these traps and pull my friends out and into safety. Great Ruler, please do this one thing we ask of thee. The other three traps have been decoded, get rid of these last few then. I believe you can, Great Ruler, with your almighty power_." For the big finish, they shouted, "_GREAT RULER, ANSWER_!"

Lightning flashed out of the empty sky. Or, at least, the sky that _was_ empty. It was suddenly filled with rolling thunderclouds. It began to rain heavily, drenching Leslie and Zane almost immediately. All at once, they felt their strength begin to seep out of their bodies. They turned towards the mysterious book and watched it dissolve in the downpour, flipping open to a random page in the middle and then crumpling like it was fire falling from the clouds, not water.

"That is so weird," Leslie said. Zane just laughed.

When the book was about half destroyed, a whirlwind started twisting out of it. Like a funnel, it started thin coming from the book, then it bent over and got wider, touching the ground. Zane and Leslie quickly backed away as the winds picked up even more speed.

The whirlwind stayed for about half a minute, then dissipated. In its place stood, highly confused, Aster, Emerald, Kris, Chazz, Shara, Jerome, and a green-haired elfish person the two Wiccans didn't recognize. Aster was holding a candelabrum, and, here's the weirdest part, a pair of wings made of pure fire sprouted from his back.

"What the hell is going on," Zane demanded. Aster and Chazz glanced at the green-haired guy, who blinked and looked more befuddled than the rest of the group.

"That's what I'd like to know," Shara said, looking at Aster's wings. "Like what's wrong with Aster."

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Aster replied hotly.

"Oh yes there is!" Shara insisted. "Last time I checked, humans don't have wings made of fire sprouting from their back that doesn't die in heavy rain!"

In fact, the rain seemed to change the sparks into actual, gleaming red feathers.

"Huh," Aster remarked, twisting around to get a look at these new wings. "Would you look at that."

"But who's that guy?" Leslie asked, jabbing a thumb towards the green-haired person.

"Well," Chazz started. "It appears that Folke was another minion of this master we're fighting against."

"Okaaaay," Leslie said. "Then, _what_ is he?"

"A Landvaettir," Jerome answered. "I originally supposed that they were a shy, yet protective group, but since he was brainwashed by whoever we're in a battle against, he was terribly evil. Like, evil with a sword."

The Landvaettir bowed. "I am sorry," he said, all malevolence gone from his voice. "I did not mean to cause you people this much harm. I should be returning to Ireland, where I belong. I was born to protect that land, and I hope to get back there."

"Is that why the book took us to Leap Castle?" Kris asked.

"Yes, though it was just a copy of it at its current state," Folke explained. "I really must be going. Even though the people of Ireland don't really remember that I and the other Landvaettir are there, I should be there."

"Wait," Zane commanded. "I have one last question. Do you remember anything about this 'master' person?"

Folke shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't remember much. The details are blurry. All I recall is sitting on the rocks of Ireland pondering the reason why no one leaves us food for offerings anymore, when a man handed me a book with a Celtic Knot on it and said, 'With this you can make your own perfect world.' It seemed like a good thing at the time, but when I accepted it… I am sorry, I do not remember anything after that."

"Not even what the man looked like?"

"No. I am sure, though, that he was not the final shape of the Master. The Master will be much more powerful than I."

"Well that's just perfect," Emerald complained. Folke just bowed again, and in a flash of forest green light, he was gone.

"Still, that is very handy information," Aster said.

"Hmm…" Shara hummed, taking one of Aster's new wings and tugging on it.

"Yeowch!" Aster shouted, jumping. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"They seem to be real," Shara concluded, leaping out of the way when he tried to tackle her.

"Stop it!" Chazz ordered forcefully. Everyone looked at him. "I think I know what's going on."

"What is it?" Aster inquired. "As much as I like these wings, I'd like to know where they came from…"

"Aster," Chazz started. "I think… you're a Phoenix."


	25. The Mysterious Newcomer

**Sorry it took so long to update. I couldn't think of anything to write for the longest time!!!**

* * *

Shara suddenly burst out laughing. "Aster! A Phoenix! Haha! How obvious can you get!!?" However, when she noticed no one was laughing along with her, she blushed and hid her face. "I'll go find the others," she muttered before ducking out.

Leslie's legs gave out, causing her to collapse into Zane's arms.

"Sorry," she said softly. "That spell took a lot out of me."

"Let's talk later when we're all here," Zane said, not showing his own fatigue. "We'll meet at the Slifer Dorm later, after a good rest. Oh and Aster, try not to do anything. Anything at all."

"Sure, I suppose," Aster replied, not quite understanding what the wizard meant. Zane nodded and, still holding Leslie, apparated out of there.

"Well," Kris said, stretching. "I agree with Zane. A good rest sounds nice." She sat down on the bench and curled up on it, preparing to sleep.

"Don't you want a bed or something?" Chazz asked her.

"Nah, I'm fine," she dismissed. "I'm half wolf, remember?"

Chazz just rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He looked at the remaining creatures. "Well," he said. "Go on. Get to bed. It's dark, and most of you are Day Class students."

* * *

The short but lean girl strode confidently away from the sunset towards the main building on the island. Her naturally blonde, thin hair danced behind her in the headwind. Her wide blue eyes stared straight ahead, and her sky blue dress followed similar patterns to her hair. Her dress was royal, with white frills at the bottom and halfway down the long sleeves. The neckline was straight across her chest, but there were also white spaghetti straps. The heels of her black Mary Janes clicked on the sidewalk. On the middle finger of her left hand was a silver ring with a sapphire stone. Two vine-like pieces of silver held the stone in place by twisting around it and each other.

She reached the office of Headmaster Sheppard when the sun was completely hidden. Luckily for her, he never slept.

"Ah, you're the exchange student, yes?" he asked her. She nodded. "So you're…" He looked down at the paper in front of him. "Shah-ay-lynn Winchester?"

"It's pronounced Shaelynn, Shay-uh-lynn," she corrected him.

"I hope your flight wasn't too bad?" Sheppard asked kindly.

"Oh no, there was hardly any turbulence. It was a great day for flying," she commented.

"Good, good, yes, yes…" Sheppard mused. "Well, you came a little later than you said you would, and so there's no one awake from the Day Class to take you in immediately. If you like, you could stay in one of the guest suites here until next morning."

"I don't mind," she said. "Take me there."

"Yes of course," he replied. "Say, Miss Winchester, aren't you a bit young to be here?"

"Don't judge on appearances, Sheppard, I'm older than you."

"Yes, yes, of course, of course."

* * *

Alicia, Shara, Kris, and Leslie were having a small girls' night in the witch's room that night, sitting around five table lights that looked and acted like candles in a cup. It was sort of like a… sleepover. It didn't matter that _some_ of them just came out of or helped others come out of a book…

"Do you ever get the feeling," Alicia started, "that something weird or exciting is going to happen?"

"Well, I mainly just ignore it," Leslie laughed. "In this place, you can't exactly go without weirdness."

"True that!" Kris commented, grinning. However, Alicia remained sincere.

"Seriously, I feel like something's going to happen."

"Me too," Shara piped in. "Maybe it's a cat thing."

"Maybe, 'cause I don't sense anything," Kris said.

"Well," Alicia said, standing up, "I feel like going to go see Atticus. Anyone else coming?"

"Eh… sure," Shara shrugged. "But we should probably go as cats, you know, in case a teacher's out there."

"Good idea."

"What about us?" Leslie asked.

"Do you want to come?" Alicia responded a little harshly.

"Well yeah."

"Then come. I'm not stopping you, but I'm not taking blame if you get caught."

"Okay, deal."

* * *

Two cats, one purple, one brown, streaked past Shaelynn as she headed away from the infirmary. She let it slide, not realizing that they were Nekoes, not just cats. She rounded the corner and was almost run into by two other girls, one with strawberry blonde hair, the other with one blue eye and one green eye.

"Sorry," the blonde apologized. "We'll just be going…" and slinked off with her friend. Shaelynn just shrugged and continued down her path. She walked for a bit, trying to find her way back to her guest suite. Along the way, she stopped in front of one of those large windows and looked out at the moon, nearing the horizon but still full.

"Atticus," she whispered. "It was under this same moon… This same moon that I lost and followed you."

* * *

"Oh my god!"

"Go get the others!"

"Go get the_ nurse_!"

"I can't believe it, it's so impossible!"

That's right. Atticus had woken up, and he stayed awake. Shara, Alicia, Leslie, and Kris were crowded around his bed as he looked at them all.

"Nice to see you, Leslie," he commented. "Who're your friends?" The witch felt his forehead.

"You're burning, I hope you're not delirious," she replied sourly.

"Oh no, but I thought I saw…"

"Who? Who'd you see?" Alicia asked impatiently.

"Well, Shaelynn. You guys don't know who she is, but… Maybe you saw her walking away from this room?"

"Come to think of it…" Kris mused. "We saw that blonde girl, but I didn't think anything of it."

"You mean that girl who looked like she was fourteen?" Leslie clarified.

"Oh, girls! Girls!" Atticus chuckled. "She's not fourteen, she's much older than that."

"Like, how old?" Shara asked.

"Like, probably a _hundred_ and fourteen!" Atticus declared. Kris smacked her own forehead.

"You're stupid," she said.

"Not stupid, she just lives a really long time. I met her right before I became Nightshroud, but I didn't know what happened to her. She _seems_ to be all right."

"By now I've learned not to trust any new characters," Kris replied.

"Come on, guys," Atticus pleaded, "she's my friend. Can't we just trust her? For me?" The girls shrugged.

"I guess so," Leslie concluded. "I mean, if you're really serious…" Atticus looked extremely happy, and that was enough for them.

* * *

The others found out that Atticus had awoken, and Zane and Alexis were allowed some time to him alone before they all crowded around his bed.

"Do you remember anything about being in the Shadow Fiends?" Jaden eagerly asked. Atticus shook his head.

"Sorry, no… What I recall the most was extreme darkness."

"Extreme?" Leslie pondered.

"Extreme like you could suffocate if you breathed too fast," Atticus clarified.

"So you remember nothing? Nothing at all?" Chazz asked.

"Well…" Atticus started. "I… do remember right before I caved in to the extreme darkness… I was given this mask by a mysterious woman, but she was acting… weird. I dunno, I didn't know her, but she didn't seem to be… a normal person. And now that I think of it, her eyes were weird, too. They weren't human."

"What were they like?" Chazz pressed. Atticus shivered, and Zane shoved the vampire.

"Don't press him too hard!" he scowled. "He just woke up! Have some manners!"

"Zane, relax," his friend assured him. "I'm fine really."

"What were they like? I'd rather know, in case this happens nearby," Light put in, hoping to stop any fights before they happened.

"The base was gray, or silver… something like that, where the whites of the eyes were. Then there was a giant black pupil or something, it filled up where the iris and the pupil is, and then there was a black ring around it, surrounding it with some space in between. I could sketch it, if you had pencil and paper…"

"Here," Leslie said, conjuring the requested items. Atticus took it and drew a circle and colored it in. Then he drew another, larger circle around it, and encased the entire thing in a gray football shape, representing the eye.

"Like that," he declared.

"That's so weird…" Shara commented. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Yeah," Alexis agreed. "Well, it's unique, and now we'll be able to recognize it."

Just then, Ms. Fontaine bustled in and started pushing them out the door. Atticus was awake, but he was still in the hospital wing for a few more days. Right before he was out the door, Jaden called back, "Hey Atticus, I was curious… What creature are you?"

Atticus grinned and replied, "A lyre bird. I can talk to animals. Cool, right?"

* * *

Shaelynn looked around before thumbtack-ing a sheet to the bulletin board in the main hall. She snuck out, and immediately a small throng of kids crowded around it, one of them being Jaden.

"A school band?" one kid asked.

"Who plays instruments here?" another wondered, astonished. "I sure don't know anybody."

"I think this is cool," Jaden remarked. "I haven't played the drums in ages! It'll be a good thing on my schedule. Going to school to bang on stuff? Checkmate!"

"That's perfect," Shaelynn whispered to herself as he fished a pen from his backpack and signed up. "The more, the merrier, my darlings. Sign up! Sign up! You'll see just how wonderful band is."

After musing to herself, she stalked off, bumping into Jerome and Sybil, who were talking hurriedly and lowly, no doubt trying yet another plan to get Shara to hook up with the werewolf. None of them worked…

"Sorry," she said, bashing her eyelashes. Jerome's look of annoyed fury immediately subsided, and a relaxed visage appeared in its place.

"It's all right," he said. "No harm done." Sybil smacked his arm. "Ow! What the heck!?"

"Are you feeling okay?" the Lama asked incredulously. "You don't act like that, you're a school bully."

"Am not!" he protested, glancing sideways at Shaelynn to see if she heard that. She made a point to study her nails to show she didn't care/notice.

"Let's just go," Sybil scowled, gripping his arm and pulling him away from the new girl. "Hey, I didn't know we had a school band! Did I ever tell you I play the harp…?"

Shaelynn grinned silently to herself once again, and strode away.

* * *

"Thank you for signing up for this band class," Shaelynn announced to her poor turnout. One of each instrument, but at least she had the people she wanted. The entire GX crew was there, instruments out and ready to play. Shaelynn was the conductor, and she stood on a podium with a baton in her hand.

She gazed carelessly around the room, taking note of who was where. Jerome was playing the Tuba off to her right in the third row. Going to the left of the second row, there was Chazz on the Baritone, looking grumpy of course, then Zane on the Trombone, and Light on Trumpet, looking eager. In the second row starting from the left was Shara on French Horn, Kris on the Alto Saxophone, Atticus on Tenor Sax (the nurse had released him a few days ago), Emerald practicing the Bass Clarinet, and finally Aster on a lovely red Bassoon. Clipped onto the center of his tie was a red Item. It was a circle with five points like a crown on top, and it was perfectly symmetrical. Starting from her right in the first row sat Alicia on the clarinet, Leslie on the oboe, and Syrus playing the flute. Behind the entire band was Sybil on harp, Jaden ready to play drums, and Alexis with her fingers poised at a keyboard.

"I'm sorry the turnout is so small," she apologized. "I'm just glad that we have one of every instrument. Perhaps we could make this work, even though our music might lack depth because we have no second parts. Alicia, could you pass out the sheet music?" Shaelynn handed the Neko a bundle of papers and she passed out sheet music titled "Where Neither Dove or Falcon Flew."

"It's grammatically incorrect," Kris joked, looking at the title. Shaelynn laughed too.

"Well, it's based off of a poem, so we can't just change the title," she responded lightheartedly. "Alright, let's sight read." She held up her arms. The music was in 6/8. "One-two-three four-five-six, go!"

* * *

Later that day…

Atticus jogged to catch up to the retreating Shaelynn.

"I see you haven't lost your conducting touch," he said amiably, putting his hands behind his head and clasping them.

"I see you haven't lost your skill," she giggled in reply. "You still play the tenor like a pro."

"It's not _that_ hard," Atticus protested, putting on a fake pout. Shaelynn laughed out loud.

"I'll see you after class, Little Duckling," she said, brushing his arm with her fingertips before turning around.

"Wait," Atticus called. "I haven't seen you in ages! What happened?"

"After class," she pressed. She rounded a corner and was gone.

"She used to call me Little Duckling," he mused dejectedly. "What happened to her?"

* * *

The next class she had was with Jaden. She sat right next to him, taking Syrus's original spot, who simply sat on the other side for a change. Syrus didn't complain because hey, she's pretty.

"So, it's… Jaden, right?" Shaelynn asked with a low, seductive voice.

"Y-yeah," he replied nervously, equally as low. As much as he _loved_ detention, he didn't really feel like angering any teachers today.

"I'm free, this afternoon, after class," she whispered. "Wanna go to the beach and, oh, I dunno, watch the sunset together?"

"Um…" Jaden hummed thoughtfully. In his dense brain of his, he realized, along with her tone of voice, that Shaelynn wanted something like a date from him. He really wasn't that interested, and he didn't want to send her any wrong signals. "I can't, sorry. You know how much homework Crowler gives."

"No, I don't," Shaelynn murmured in his ear.

"W-well, he gives a lot to me," Jaden said.

"Miss Shaelynn!" the teacher snapped. "Stop flirting and pay attention!"

* * *

A little while later, Shaelynn met up with Zane at the lighthouse just as the sun was setting. "Isn't it pretty, Zany-Wany?"

Zane visibly cringed at the nickname and shot a sidelong glare at her.

"What, you don't like the nickname?" She sounded hurt. She's a good actress.

"No," he replied flatly. "Go back to your dorm. It'll be night soon, and you don't want to be caught out."

"Why not?" she pouted.

"Because most likely you'll be eaten by a werewolf or something," he said. After a moment he added, "But you know, that wouldn't be so bad. We don't need any more girls, do we?"

"Oh, that hurts, you know," responded Shaelynn dryly. "Later, Zany, you're boring."

With a puff of wind, she vanished. It was then Zane realized that he didn't know what type of monster she was. She could be anything, really.

What really bothered Zane was he was called…boring! Can you believe that? These looks, and she calls him boring. No one else can pull off this teal-haired look, as far as anyone knew, and still look as hot as hell. Slightly concerned, Zane retreated back to his dorm room.

* * *

When Shaelynn reappeared somewhere on the island amongst trees, the sun was gone and the moon was high over head. Immediately, she heard a growl, the low rumbling sound of a creature with killer instincts. Two pairs of orbs shifted out of the trees and lunged at her, being the eyes of the animal. Shaelynn stared directly into them and blew a kiss. The animal immediately stopped, proving it to be somewhat human.

"That's better," she muttered to herself, continuing onwards to where she thought the school building was.

She broke out of the trees and found that she had indeed gone the right direction. The building loomed in front of her, and at the top sat a figure. After a few seconds, the figure spotted her and jumped down, large bat-like wings extending behind him.

"Oh, hello Chazz," Shaelynn said softly, batting her eyelids. "I was out for a little nighttime stroll, but now I'm tired…"

"Get back to your room," the vampire ordered. "I'll let you off with a warning this time, but next time I see you out after sunset without escort from a legible Night Class student, you'll be in big trouble."

"Oh Chazzy," Shaelynn pleaded, sidling up next to him. "But tonight was so beautiful, I'm sure you've seen. There's not a single cloud in the sky, and you can see soooooo many stars!" Chazz looked at her strangely.

"What are you talking about?" he inquired grumpily. "Just go to bed."

Shaelynn began tracing his arm. He jerked away, starting to get angry. And then she looked up straight into his eyes, and said soothingly and seductively, "Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome, I'd love it if you escorted me back to my dorm…" Chazz blinked, confused.

"Who the hell do you think I am…" he tried to retorted, but as he kept staring back to her eyes, his world seemed to spin. He was hypnotized! "Yeah, sure, okay."

* * *

Back in her room, Shaelynn was pouring over two books and a slip of parchment paper. "Master, my plan is going pretty well. Only Jaden and Zane haven't succumbed to my seduction spell, but that's no matter. The true spell awaits them in the place they least expect it." She fingered her ring. "With these new powers you've bestowed upon me, I'm sure I can destroy them!"

* * *

**I know that previously I said that Atticus was a lyre bird. I wanted to confirm it by having him say it.**

**The meeting at the Slifer Dorm was forgotten about, what with the new arrival and Atticus waking up...**

**Shaelynn "stood up" Atticus after class, and hasn't told him anything.**

**That should clear some things up... I DID write this over the course of... a week or two.**


	26. The Cheesy Chapter

**Contrary to popular belief, Shaelynn is not a succubus. You'll find out what she is sooner or later. And if you don't know what a succubus is… Well, I'm not gonna be the one to tell you.**

* * *

Atticus jerked awake, blinking away the blurriness that comes with suddenly waking up. Confused for a moment, he wondered what had stirred him from his sleep, the last remnants of a dream fading fast. And then he knew. Shaelynn was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at him lovingly.

"I was wondering when you'd wake," she said. Atticus checked his watch, which doubled as his Item. It wasn't digital, a clock with hands. He found the ticking noise soothing. It was a silver color with a shimmering blue face and a metal band. It read seven AM.

"Shaelynn," he moaned, "you woke me up so early! I don't have classes yet, still, and even when I do, they won't start until two hours later!"

"I'm sowwy, Atty-kins," she said in a pseudo-kid's voice. "It's not my fault I wanna spend more time with you… I haven't seen you in forever, you know."

Any frustration or annoyances that Atticus had vanished immediately. "I know, I missed you too!" He shifted so that he was on his knees, and then he warmly embraced her, and she hugged him back. "I haven't seen you for a long time. What happened?"

"Only something similar to you," she whispered, a hint of malevolence in her voice never previously heard. His eyes widened in sudden understanding, but he had no time to react. Her ring began to shine deep from within, a vivid, intense blue. The light filled the room, and when it suddenly vanished, Atticus was out cold, fallen limply to his side back onto the bed.

"Sorry, Atty-kins," she said, real somberness echoing in her words. "But I need to do this."

* * *

The next day was yet another band class. The band had proceeded remarkably well and quickly, and they were even considering putting on a concert soon. Of course, this band was supported by the star musicians, Kris, Sybil, and Jaden. Kris is very, very skilled on her saxophone, while Sybil was a natural at harp and tapped into her abilities while residing at her original home. Jaden? All he has to do is keep a beat and bang on stuff.

The students put together their instruments and sat down at their appropriate places. Atticus at first seemed to be perfectly normal, but there was a strange look to his eyes that one could not just place. It could be that they were deader than usual, or that they were brighter. It was indeed a strange look.

"Are you okay, Atticus?" Zane asked, his seat almost right behind his friend's.

Atticus blinked before turning around and grinning widely. "I'm fine!" he said happily. "Perfectly all right!" Zane gave him a curious look, but let it slide. You can never measure how high his hyperness level goes, after all. Becoming Nightshroud temporarily hadn't changed that.

Shaelynn stepped up to her stand and platform. Everyone looked up at her, certain males more expectant than most. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Before we start another practice, I just want to say I'm proud of this little group." The guys (except Zane of course) beamed. The girls noticed this look and scowled (except Kris, who also smiled to herself). "You've come very far for just a week or two. We're almost ready for a concert, if you so desire. That's enough with the sweet talking, let's get to playing!"

Everyone cheered and got ready to play once again.

* * *

If you hadn't realized, by now Shaelynn had seduced the entire male population on the island, save Zane and Jaden. Maybe it was a human thing. Even with magic mingling in his blood, a wizard is still a human.

As to be expected with this massive seduction spell, the girls are getting jealous, trying desperately to cling on to their boyfriend and to stop them from going to this one mysterious female. Of course, Kris could care less. She didn't really currently love someone. However, her friends did, and for that, she had to care.

As the day moved on, they all agreed that Atticus was acting strange. Stranger than usual, that is. He always took a slight moment before replying to prompts when usually he went right ahead and answered. The girls congregated in the Obelisk gardens to talk about it. Bizarrely, the guys were avoiding this area. It typically was a popular dating spot.

"I blame Shaelynn," Emerald spat. "She's putting a seduction spell of some sort on our guys!"

Alicia nodded solemnly. "It's gotta be her," she said, "seeing as all the guys vie for her."

"It's weird though," Leslie put out. "Zane and Jaden aren't affected at all."

"And Atticus is affected the worst," Kris noted.

"Maybe Zane and Jaden aren't affected because they're human?" Shara suggested.

"Even Light is seduced, and I thought he was a pretty loyal guy," Alexis said quietly.

"And Chazz is bewitched, which is really strange, I think," Sybil said. "He seems to me to be the kind of person resistant to these. I don't know, maybe it's his attitude that makes me think so. He has a very strong persona."

"Uh huh," Kris dismissed, "but we have to solve our problem. How are we gonna do that?"

"I would say, go attack the core, which would be Shaelynn," Emi said. "Of course, that'd be difficult…"

"I think we need to get our guys to support us," Leslie said. "It sounds anti-feminist, but I think it's the only way."

"But how do we get them back to us?" Alexis asked.

Alicia proposed the answer. "We summon our teenage beauty, and we seduce our way."

"Heh, heh," Shara stammered, blushing. "But that would mean flirting, and… um…"

"Yeah, a few of us can't do that," Kris mumbled, also turning red at the thought.

"Nonsense," Sybil discharged. "Flirting is a girl's instinct. To seduce is Nature's gift to all females."

"But what about Zane?" Leslie pressed. "And Jaden? Won't they mind?"

"We'll tell them," Alicia countered. "They're smart – or at least Zane is – they'll understand." (Shara: Hey!! No, wait, you're right...)

"Actually," Emerald started, "I think we should each stick to our guys. The ones whose guy isn't hypnotized can go after Shaelynn."

"Right," Kris said, "so that's me, Shara, and Leslie…"

"Hold on," Alexis said to Kris, an evil glint in her eye. "What are we going to do about Chazz?"

"What about him?" Kris asked, confused. The other girls caught on quickly.

"What do you mean, what about him?" Sybil laughed.

"Do you _see_ the way he looks at you?" Shara pointed out.

"What the hell are you guys talking about!?" Kris demanded.

"Let's put it this way," Alicia said, clasping her hands in front of her. "He 'wuvs' you."

Kris stopped for a moment before starting to get angry. "No he doesn't," she retorted. "We feel nothing for each other! At least not in that sense!"

"Are you sure?" Alexis pressed. "He _did_ take you to the Halloween dance."

"That was a friendship thing," the wolf demon replied. "It's because everyone else had a date except for us!"

"Did you ask him, or was it the other way around?" continued Alexis.

"What the hell does this have to do with anything!?" Kris inquired irritably. After a pause she added, "He asked first. But that's not the point!"

"Think about it," Leslie soothed, a different take of the argument the others were pushing. "No one else can get him back but you. I know you want to fight 'The Seductress,' but we need you to get the other guys back." Kris sighed, defeated.

"All right, fine, I suppose there's no other way. And Chazz _would_ be a powerful enemy if Shaelynn made him turn on us…"

"That's right…" Leslie said. "Alright, so Shara and I will take on Shaelynn?"

"Hold on," Shara interrupted. "If it's all right with Sybil, I'd rather try and get Jerome back. You know how he's vying after me."

"Okay," Sybil agreed. "I don't mind."

"What should we do about Atticus?" Alicia asked.

"We can't do anything about him, sadly," Sybil replied. "He… well, nevermind. We can't help him right now, but we'll figure something out.

"Let's do this early tomorrow, girls, before that band class," Alexis concluded. "I'm sure we don't need to assign ourselves…"

* * *

Shaelynn sat once again at her bed, but this time Atticus was there, too. He was hovering over her shoulder as she poured over a large dusty tome, rechecking a spell.

"What do you plan to do, Shay-la?" he asked.

"It's a secret, Little Duckling," she replied. "Tomorrow I'll execute my spell. Assuming, that is, that the girls successfully get their guys back before that band class."

* * *

All six girls got up early that day. They were going to have to cut some morning classes, but they had to get their guys back before they saw Shaelynn again. First, Shara was up. She tracked down Jerome as the rest of the girls spread out to find their targets. She found him somewhere in the forest.

She leaned against a tree before calling out, "Oh, Dalton…" The werewolf whirled around, surprised to find her there. She smiled crookedly and twirled a lock of purple hair around a finger. "I've been lonely without you…"

Jerome's face turned red. As it turned out, seduction spells do not hide secret crushes very well. It hides shown love, yes, but not a secret crush well enough. "I, um, what are you doing here?"

Shara's smile widened. "Looking for you." She stopped twirling her hair and danced up to him, started to stroke his collar bone and arm. His face turned redder. Shara took a deep breath and, grimacing to herself, stood on tiptoes and pecked him on the lips.

She took a few steps back to see the results. Jerome looked like a tomato with a brown top. "Sh-Shara," he stuttered, "wh-what the hellll?" He drew out the "L" as if thinking too slowly.

"Are you back?" she asked. He blinked a couple times before answering.

"Y-yeah, I suppose so… What happened?"

"I'll explain later…"

* * *

Alexis surprised Light at the beach by popping her head out of the water. "Come in," she offered softly, beckoning with a hand and letting her beautiful sky blue tail peek out of the water. She silently thanked Fate for reminding her to wear waterproof make-up. She was making everything up as she went along. "The water's not that bad…"

Light looked at her curiously. As aforementioned, Shaelynn's spell hid shown love very well. "What do you want?" he asked flatly.

Alexis leaned forward. "I want you, to come, in the water," she replied, pausing discriminately. She was finding this difficult. Most of the time, _she_ was the one flirted to, not the other way around. She hoped she learned something from the guys. When Light didn't move, she sighed and splashed some water on him.

"Hey!" he shouted, leaping to his feat angrily. She splashed him again, a wide smile playing on her face. "Hey!" he yelled again, this time more light-heartedly.

"If you come in, I'll stop splashing you," she bargained.

"You've got me cornered!" he joked. It wasn't that funny, but she laughed anyway. She splashed him again, impatient.

His "boy's instinct" told him to jump in and play in the water. And that is exactly what he did. When he did, the two of them splashed around for a few minutes, enjoying themselves. And then Alexis got close, almost uncomfortably close to Light, making him shy away a little.

"Don't you like me?" she queried with fake hurt. She was copying a couple fanboys of hers, who always posed that question when she turned them down.

"Y-yes, b-but not in… that way?" he stammered.

"Well, I like you. I really really really like you." Alexis then gave him a smooch on the lips, enjoying the first few seconds before being taken by surprise when he put his hands on her back and kissed back. She pulled away. "I guess you're cured then."

"Ohhhhhh yeah."

* * *

Emerald was a bit more reckless in her job than Alexis and Shara. She crept up behind Aster and tackled him in the hallway, clinging to his neck.

"What the hell!?" he shouted in surprise. Emerald let go only so he could turn around and face her. "Why did you just hugtackle me!?"

"'Cause I love you!" she giggled. "Isn't it obvious?" She hoped the brash approach would attract Aster.

"Sorry, I'm not doing anything for fangirls today," he said. He turned back to walk away.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you're famous," she blurted before realizing how stupid she sounded. "Oops…"

"What?" he asked, rotating slowly back around. "What did you mean by that?"

"W-well," she started, thinking quickly. "I don't go after just any old guy, you know. And I don't just go after the rich dudes. I go after the guys I want! And I like your personality! Yeah, that's it," she added quietly to herself. Aster blinked a couple times and approached Emerald cautiously. She gulped and looked into his eyes.

She didn't really know what to do. After all, her instructions were pretty vague. "Flirt with him until he snaps back to reality." Yeah, easier said than done. As her gaze traveled a few inches downwards, an idea came across her. This could be a highly embarrassing moment, or it could be the saving moment. She braced herself and leaned forward, taking Aster and even herself by surprise when their lips met.

When nothing happened, she felt her face grow warm and she spun hurriedly away. She just kissed someone who didn't remember that they were in love! After a slight hesitation to collect her thoughts and utter a "Sorry," she raced around the corner.

A few minutes later, Aster found her again, sitting on the bench in the garden that no one visited anymore. Emerald didn't hear him come up, and so she nearly jumped out of her skin when he tilted her head up with his hand. Her cheeks were wet.

"You've been crying!" he said, shocked. "Don't cry…"

"I have not been crying!" she retorted defiantly. She sniffed, proving the opposite. Aster sat down on the bench next to her and stared at his lap for a few seconds.

"Sorry," he finally muttered. "I–I don't know what came over me these past few…"

"It's not your fault," Emerald comforted. "You were under a spell." Aster looked up at her, smiling slightly with his eyes unusually bright.

"Thanks for not giving up on me…"

"I never would, not in a thousand years."

* * *

Syrus was walking down a different hallway when a dark brown cat began rubbing her head lovingly against his leg. Recognizing the Neko, he tried to gently push her away with his foot. Alicia the cat responded by batting his pant leg with a paw. Syrus tried to ignore her, and kept on walking.

Alicia grew annoyed and transformed into a human. "Syrus," she spoke. The fairy boy stopped and turned around. "Syrus, you are under a spell."

"So?" he replied hotly. Alicia rolled her eyes and summoned up her courage.

"I'm here to snap you out of it," she said.

"Maybe I don't wanna be snapped out of it," he retorted. "Shaelynn is much prettier than you."

"Oh, are we judging looks now?" Alicia asked with fake innocence. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize… My, what is that on your _face_?"

"What?" Syrus asked, suddenly surprised.

"Oh wait," she said, laughing. "It's your nose."

"Really?" Syrus pondered, putting a hand to said body part.

Alicia moved closer. "I like your nose, actually. I like everything about you, seeing as I forget about the parts I don't."

Syrus blushed. "Oh, um…"

"You're cute when you blush," she said softly. And then she kissed him lightly on the lips. When she pulled away after a second, they were both red as tomato sauce.

"Um… Alicia?" Syrus said suddenly after an awkward period of silence.

"Yes?"

"Th-thanks. I promise I won't turn on your again."

"It's not your fault…"

Syrus grinned. "I love you, little Kitty!"

They stepped towards each other and hugged warmly. "Ditto, Fairy boy!"

* * *

When Kris was searching for Chazz, she didn't expect him to find her. When she turned a corner, BOOM he was right there. He just stood there with his arms crossed, waiting for her to speak, too. She nearly had run into him. She put an arm behind her head and blushed violently.

"Well," she said finally. "This is awkward."

Chazz didn't reply, he just kept looking down at her. Why did he have to be so tall!?

"Um…" Kris's mind was racing, but she couldn't think of anything to say. His stare was really bringing her down. "W-well, how a-are you?" She cursed herself for faltering. She should be braver than this! She looked up to see what his reaction would be, and he just raised an eyebrow at her. She looked quickly down.

Kris remembered what Sybil had said earlier, about his "strong persona." Of course! He had been hard to put under the spell, so it only makes sense that he'd be hard to free. That meant that he would be very deep, and therefore very difficult to reach. Well that was just perfect. The hardest job for the least experienced. She began to chew the bottom of her lip. Not a good sign.

She decided to go for inquiry. "So… Is it true th-that you… you like me? 'C-cause, you know, I haven't n-noticed an–anything…" She stammered to a stop when words failed her and Chazz remained silent. Now she was just getting frustrated.

"Did she cut your tongue out, or something!?" she scowled. "I'm getting really annoyed."

Chazz smirked, humored slightly, which only made Kris more annoyed.

"What, so you think it's funny that I'm mad!?" she accused. "I think you're no better than the Shadow Fiends we're fighting if you think that's funny." She spun on her heel to leave when Chazz spoke, humor lacing his voice.

"In case you haven't noticed," he said, "I give my love to no one. No one deserves it, and it doesn't deserve anyone else. I think it's funny that someone's polluted your brain with the idea that I actually _like_ you." Wrath plastered itself on Kris's face as she whirled around to face him again.

"That's all fine and dandy!" she raged. "Because I hate you too! You are the devil incarnate, I think! I never believed them for a second that you might've liked me because you are incapable of loving anyone or anything! Because your life is so crapped up by your own choices that you think of only yourself! Yes, you selfish, pompous brat, you're not this whiny, 'woe-is-me' vampire, because it was your choice! YOUR CHOICE!" She was beginning to screech now. "I think being an undead leech is your self punishment, and now you've discovered that this punishment is for good, and now you're letting your depression leak out of the legal boundaries! You know what? I blame you for attracting the Shadow Fiends, yes, you! I bet they feed off of depressed kids like you! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN!"

Panting heavily, her eyes burning, she elbowed past Chazz and stalked off, furious. You could _see_ the smoke burning out of her ears. Chazz watched her go for a while before walking the other way, forgetting the entire thing.

Shaelynn's spell does not hide secret crushes, but Chazz was in much too deep for that flaw to affect him as much. This put a damper on things, for if they didn't have the vampire on their side, Shaelynn could use him for more dangerous, more evil things. And all she would have to do is bat an eyelash.

* * *

**I'm cutting it a little "short." Now you have a chapter of love (boy, that sounds cheesy every time…) AND a cliffhanger. I think your life is complete. No? It's not? Oh, my bad. **

**Oh, and, sorry if this seemed to be a little boring to you. I tried to make everyone's flirting technique as different as possible, following their personalities and monster types... And I am not a pro at flirting...**


	27. NEW HIATUS MESSAGE PLEASE READ

**Hey, you. Yeah you. Remember this story?**

**No? Well, I understand.**

**Yes? Holy crap. **

**You're probably wondering right now what this message is about. You're probably also bouncing up and down in your seats hoping with your lips moving in prayer and your palms pressed together that this story is gonna be continued again.**

**Well, today is your lucky day. I'm gonna continue this.**

**Lemme explain: I reread my last Hiatus message (I took it down, just trust me on this), and I said that this story "wasn't good enough." True, it's not my proudest story, but it IS my longest. I can't just give up on it. Just because I don't have as many reviews as the other guy doesn't mean it sucks. I think I was bound to come back to this. And I came back from Frogwarts (a camp) with renewed creativity. And it's dying for a release. **

**Sorry for... well, scaring you like that, I guess. I freaked out a little, and I know I can write better than my previous chapters. I'm too lazy to rewrite the entire thing, but I'm falling into my writing style, so you should know that the next chapters until the END are gonna be the best ever. **

**I'll get the next chapter up soon. I'm going into the city tomorrow to a modern art museum. It could be up tomorrow. It could be up the next day. I don't know when, BUT I promise you, it will be up by this weekend at the very latest.**

**Cheers. Thanks for keeping an eye on this story.  
**


	28. Shaelynn's attack

**Yeah. I'm back. Sorry for ditching you guys. But I've got other awesome stories, ne? Or maybe you don't look at those… Oops.**

**Well, let's not make you wait any longer, hmm? On with the story!

* * *

**

Leslie and Sybil forced themselves to look casual. No one could know what they were up to, for they weren't sure who was under Shaelynn's spell and who wasn't. They wandered the halls, trying to keep a casual conversation going about the latest Wicca books (the newest, by the way, was written over a hundred years ago). They passed a few classrooms, one of which was trying to teach what the humans did and how to blend in. That and history of dueling were the only required classes.

Sybil and Leslie were both dreading their first period. Who knew what Shaelynn would do?

They rounded a corner only to see Atticus. They tried to backtrack quickly, but they were spotted.

"You two!" Atticus said forcefully. "What are you doing here!?" He strode up to them quickly with a powerful stride. Despite themselves, the two creatures cowered. He looked really, really angry. He lowered his voice threateningly. "You guys better not ruin Shay-la's plan. If you do… well, let's say I won't be Mr. Nice Birdie."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Sybil countered, her voice shaking. Leslie admired the fact that she was still trying to keep up the charade, even though they had been found out. Any mistrust that had been in her system fled immediately. "What have we done to make you suspicious?"

Atticus wrinkled his nose at them, at a loss for words. He spun on his heel and promptly left. Sybil and Leslie sighed simultaneously in relief, and hurried along. But Shaelynn appeared nowhere, and their part of the mission had failed by the time the period reared its head. Them and Kris… who knew this would be so hard?

They met the others in front of the classroom.

"Any luck?" Zane asked them.

Leslie shook her head. "No. We ran into Atticus, but we didn't find Shaelynn anywhere…"

"And… um… sorry, guys," Kris mumbled, looking down so that her brown and blue hair covered her slightly red eyes. "I failed to… save Chazz."

"That's okay," Jaden said, his smile bright despite what they were going to face that morning. "That Chazz is a weird fella." Kris brightened only slightly.

The last bell rang, and they were forced to step inside, where Shaelynn was beaming as if nothing was wrong, and she wasn't plotting to destroy them all. "A little late, are we?" she asked sweetly, her conducting baton tapping impatiently against the podium. "I'll forgive you this once. Come on, go get your instruments! We have practicing to do." Wary, the un-hypnotized students slowly took their places.

Shaelynn smiled again, but it was… eviler. The tapping of the baton increased, and she started conducting even though no one was ready.

The instruments came to life! The occupants stepped back in horror, crowded into the center of the room while various instruments floated towards them. Chazz and Atticus were up at the front of the room with Shaelynn. "Go, my instruments!" Shaelynn called. "Destroy the pests!"

The twisted and shaped metals lunged at their various owners. The group ducked and as the instruments clanged above them, scattered to various parts of the room. Atticus and Chazz joined the fight.

Kris swiftly changed shape and crunched her canine teeth onto her saxophone's weak point, the neck. It crumpled in her mouth, and the instrument dropped to the floor. Atticus's Tenor attacked her also, and she did the same thing. Then Chazz dropped in front of her and, growling, she lunged at him. He nimbly dodged and racked his nails along her back. Howling, she twisted around and continued the fight.

Alicia grabbed her Clarinet out of the air and snapped it in half over her knee. Syrus's flute also flew at her, but the Fairy Boy conjured a protective force field so that it didn't touch her. The Neko then grabbed the flute and smashed it into the wall, bending it into an unusable shape. Syrus grinned at her, and she returned the gesture.

Leslie also snapped her oboe in half and joined Zane in fighting his Trombone. It kept shooting out its slide, forcing Zane to duck. But Leslie shot a spell, and it was knocked to the ground. And it stayed down. Zane shot his fellow witch a thankful glance, and she waved it off in a motion that said, "It was nothing," and faced the battle once more.

The instruments were rather easy to defeat, they've noticed. Shara stomped on her French Horn and changed into a purple cat to help her beloved Jaden with his drum set. Atticus had joined in, and Jaden was barely holding them all off. It was as if they were out to get the human.

Emerald kicked her base clarinet into the wall, and Aster discovered that he could set his bassoon on fire, though he wasn't quite sure how, yet. A Baritone flew at Leslie and Zane, who were distracted, so Emerald summoned vines the catch it. Leslie finally noticed and threw a thankful glance while she destroyed the instrument with magic.

Alexis was having trouble with her keyboard, but she managed to freeze it with her mermaid powers. Light melted his trumpet with his breath. Jerome somehow got stuck in the mouth of the massive Tuba, and Sybil dove through the harp, snapping its strings.

Shaelynn finally joined the fight. With precise whips of her arms, small tornadoes whipped about the room. With the help of Sybil and Alexis, Jaden's drum set was defeated, and they were just dodging Atticus's strikes. They didn't want to hurt him!

On the opposite side of the room, Kris had a different opinion. She tried freezing Chazz to the ground, but he deftly dodged all her attacked while landing his own. Zane shot a spell at Chazz, and it hit him. The vampire immediately changed targets and went after the wizard. Shaelynn was attacking everyone else, using wind-related powers.

Chazz tackled Zane, and the wizard fell to the ground, knocking his head against the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut as a shot of pain was released at the back of his head. Someone shrieked – Chazz? – and he opened his eyes to find himself standing and Chazz on the ground, knocked out. What had just happened?

He looked around and noticed the ring on Shaelynn's finger was glowing. "Destroy the ring!" he bellowed. Emerald immediately restrained the blonde enemy with her vines, and Jerome grabbed her arms. She flailed, but the werewolf did not let go. Sybil was the one who cast the spell that shattered the blue gem in the ring. Shaelynn shrieked as if in agony as she was released from the brainwashing. She crumpled to the ground, and Atticus immediately stopped trying to kill Jaden.

Atticus blinked a couple times before running to Shaelynn's side. "Shay-la!" he cried. "Wake up! The spell's broken!"

Shaelynn slowly opened her blue eyes and stared into Atticus's for a while. After a moment, she whispered, "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, Little Duckling."

Atticus grinned triumphantly. His friend was back! He embraced her warmly.

"Hey, Shaelynn, I've been meaning to ask you…" Sybil said slowly. "Why do you call Atticus 'Little Duckling'?"

Shaelynn laughed. "When I first met Atticus, he was in his bird form, and I thought he was a duck." She giggled a bit more. "I'm a sylph, too. I know you're all wondering."

"What's a sylph?" Jaden asked.

"It's an elemental spirit of the air," came Chazz's voice, picking himself up off the floor and brushing imaginary dust off his shoulders. "They are able to use magic associated with the air and wind. They are always female, and can turn invisible."

"That's cool!" Light said, grinning widely.

Suddenly, Shaelynn stared directly at Jaden. "Watch out," she warned. "They'll come for you." She shook her head briefly and redirected her gaze to Atticus. "I have to go, Little Duckling."

"What? Why!?"

"My home misses me. Farewell everyone. Sorry for the trouble I have caused, and thank you for saving me." With that, Shaelynn disappeared, leaving only a puff of wind behind.

"What did she mean… by her warning?" Jaden asked. Everyone shrugged.

Zane watched all this from the center of the room, slightly dazed. Everything looked… dark and foggy, like when you partially close your eyes and look through your lashes. He swayed and collapsed. He was faintly aware of voices calling his name, but he was just as baffled as them and couldn't open his eyes.

A familiar darkness was nudging the back of his mind. It was a darkness he didn't want to feel again.

* * *

**Hi there. Just want to say, if you are confused, please just ask. I will answer you.**

**This chapter's a little short, but I just really wanted to finish the Shaelynn Segment. I'll try to keep updating semi-regularly.  
**

**And please review. Pretty please with a BEWD on top?**


	29. Final Author's Note Please Read

**Yeah, I know, I put too many author notes on this story. **

**I'm not dropping it. This is the longest story I've ever written. I've grown attached to it. But, I don't like it.**** You'd think I'd drop it if I didn't like it, right?**

**Wrong.**

**Okay, so I don't HATE it. But I'm unhappy with it. I've accidentally forgotten things that I mentioned earlier in the story. The characters are starting to blend together for me (and THAT'S bad). So, here's my solution. I'm going to rewrite it.**

**I started this story when I was still a... well, when I was still a so-so author. I know I can make it more realistic (at least, as much as fantasy can be), better thought-out, and overall, just plain more awesome. **

***takes a deep breath* Okay. Don't throw any shoes at me. Please.**

**Listen, I'm not going to ask for OCs again. I'm going to continue using the ones you so graciously gave me, if that's okay with you guys (you, who lent them to me).**

**But, you get why I'm doing this? I've thought about this for a while. So yes, I'm going to rewrite it. I might not start rewriting for a bit, but I'm going to.  
**

**I'm going to repost it under the same name, I think. After a while, once I'm sure enough people have seen this message, I am going to take this version of the story down.**

**This is the last chance you have of throwing shoes at me -- I mean, speaking out. I'm sure you think it's just awesome the way it is, but I think it can be better. But, I'm ready to hear you. I'd like to see what you think of my plan.  
**

**Tata, for now. Cheers.  
**


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